


Brothers of the Road

by dracox_serdriel



Series: Season 10 Fan Fiction [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Season/Series 10, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amazons - Freeform, Angels are Dicks, Canon-Typical Violence, Case Fic, Castiel & Sam Winchester Friendship, Culling, Deities, Destiel - Freeform, Doc Benton - Freeform, Don't Mess with the Winchesters, Dragons, Dream Leaping, Dream Sharing, Established Castiel/Dean Winchester, Established Relationship, Established Sam Winchester/Original Female Character, Eve's Army, Explicit Language, F/M, Fairies, Finding Dean Winchester, Gen, Ghosts, Hunters, Kidnapping, Leviathans, M/M, Men of Letters Headquarters, Monster mash, Monster of the Week, Monsters, Object scorched with Holy Fire, One Step Behind, Personal Trials, Protogods, Queer Friendly, Reapers, Revelation is a Bitch, Samodge, Sastiel Big Bang 2013, Saved by the Hacker, Season/Series 10, Skeevy Witches, Slash, Titans, Transformation by Fire, Unfortunate Realizations, Urban Legends, Vampires, Witches, bad timing, family matters, on the road, the bunker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-05
Updated: 2013-12-05
Packaged: 2018-01-03 14:36:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1071612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dracox_serdriel/pseuds/dracox_serdriel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brothers of the Road was written as part of <a href="http://sastiel-bigbang.livejournal.com/">Sastiel Big Bang 2013</a> and is the sequel to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/series/53570">Another Chance at the Brass Ring, or Season 9 Fan Fiction</a>.</p><p><strong>Art masterpost</strong>: <a href="http://wifihunters.tumblr.com/post/69098705478">Brothers of the Road – Art masterpost</a></p><p><strong>Acknowledgements</strong>: Thanks to my lovely beta readers, <a href="http://septembers-coda.livejournal.com/">septembers_coda</a> and <a href="http://novakev.livejournal.com/">novakev</a><br/><strong>Summary</strong>: Dean Winchester is missing, leaving Castiel and Sam Winchester on the warpath to figure out who – or more aptly, what – has taken Dean captive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Five-fifteen

**Author's Note:**

> Brothers of the Road can be read as a standalone story, but there are references to original characters and events from the episodes in Season 9 Fan Fiction (S9FF) [[LJ](http://dracox-serdriel.livejournal.com/2290.html)] [[AO3](http://archiveofourown.org/series/53570)]. 
> 
> **THEN** : (summaries of S9FF on [[LJ]](http://dracox-serdriel.livejournal.com/2290.html) and [[AO3]](http://archiveofourown.org/series/53570))  
> 09x02 Gimme a Bullet  
> FBI Agent Dakota 'Dodge' Gage approached Sam about dealing with supernatural crimes.
> 
> 09x06 No Quarter  
> After receiving warning messages from Benny, Dean nearly died in his attempt to resurrect the vampire. Castiel petitioned Kuravi, the first phoenix, to raise Benny out of Purgatory in exchange.
> 
> 09x11 Mr. In-Between  
> Kuravi offered Benny Lafitte a chance to purge his soul and fully revert to humanity. Under Naomi's orders, Heaven selected Dakota 'Dodge' Gage to receive visions related to Supernatural cases.
> 
> 09x17 Cardinal Points in Quincunx  
> FBI Agent Dakota 'Dodge' Gage retreated to the Bunker due to the intensity of her visions. As she adjusted to the life, her relationship with Sam took root.
> 
> 09x21 The Montage Jack  
> Therion and Kull ensnare Dakota 'Dodge' Gage and cast a spell on her to cut off her visions from Heaven.

_Listen. Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time._

Sam Winchester ached. His muscles were so sore that they shook with tremors. 

_Billy has gone to sleep a senile widower and awakened on his wedding day._

A sharp intake of air. Sam needed to breathe, so he forced himself to inhale. He ordered his diaphragm to expand, drawing in soot-saturated air.

_The old woman remembered a swan she had bought many years ago in Shanghai for a foolish sum. This bird, boasted the market vendor, was once a duck that stretched its neck in hopes of becoming a goose, and now look! - it is too beautiful to eat._

Sam coughed, hard, and more than carbon dioxide came out of his mouth. Blood and mucus dripped from his lips. Yet he was able to breathe. Next he needed to open his eyes, to stand up – 

_They're out there. Black boys in white suits up before me to commit sex acts in the hall and get it mopped up before I can catch them._

A long time ago, John Winchester taught his boys how to cope with extreme circumstances. Sam was too young to understand the implications because Dean hadn't told him that monsters were real yet. Steeped in his own innocence, his father concocted explanations inspired by non-supernatural dangers. 

It was too hard to open his eyes just yet, so Sam leafed through his memories, willing himself strength.

"A head injury can disorient you," John had said to his sons. "A lot of predators subdue children, kids just like you Sammy, by some kind of force. Since you're shorter, it's easy for them to knock you over the head."

"But I can run real fast," Sam had replied.

"No matter how fast you can run, you need to be prepared for this. So here's what we're gonna do. Put this on."

Sam remembered the ugly plastic snorkel mask that his father had acquired a few weeks before. It didn't fit him quite right, and he hated the sensation of wearing the damn thing, but all the same, Sam obeyed his father without resentment.

"You remember what you do when you're swimming under the water and feel like you don't know where you are?" John had asked, referencing last week's lesson. 

"Exhale and follow the bubbles to the surface."

"That's right. If you're disoriented, the first thing you do is breathe."

His father had indicated the river. It was a mean, evil creature in Sam's memory, like a snake whipping through the grass. The waters in that river came straight down from a glacier, leaving the temperature near freezing. Dean had explained everything to his little brother days earlier, but he had missed several key points. 

"If you attempt to swim to the shore from mid-stream, you have a fifty percent chance of dying of hypothermia, so what you gotta do is pull in, keep your core body temperature strong, and wait for someone to throw you a lifeline and reel you to shore. You understand?" 

Sam had felt fear rising up in him, but he nodded anyway. "Is that what Dean's doing?"

"When you hit the water, it's gonna feel so cold it burns. Your natural instinct is to panic. Don't. If you panic, you'll flail and lose body heat. The cold will disorient you, like a head blow. What will you do?"

"Exhale and follow the bubbles to the surface."

"Then?"

"Swi – " Sam had floundered but stopped at the look on his father's face. "Pull in. Wait for Dean to throw me a life line, sir." 

His father had lifted his tiny body and took him to the edge; it was the first time John had carried Sam in years. 

"Sam, be ready." That was the last thing Sam remembered hearing before John took his youngest son and threw him into the icy waters -

_Quiet as it's kept, there were no marigolds in the fall of 1941. We thought, at the time, that it was because Pecola was having her father's baby._

Vague memories were all he had after the water. Dean yanked him to the shore next to a fire and dried him off immediately, stripping him of his wet clothes and wrapping him in towels. Mild hypothermia had clearly set in already, and Sam vividly recollected the violent shivers like vibrations down his spine.

"Now Sam, can you tell me what you did wrong?" John had asked, keeping his temper in check.

"I panicked," Sam admitted. 

"Right, we're gonna do this again in a week or two, when this case is over. Your job between now and then is to establish control. Control your panic."

"I tried," Sam pleaded, "but I couldn't – "

"You can and you will," John roared, his temper finally buckling. "Because when it matters, you need to keep your panic in check, or you're dead. You understand Sam? Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." 

_A little examination and much less melancholy would have proved to us that our seeds were not the only ones that did not sprout: nobody's did._

How old had he been then? Seven? No, five or six maybe. Later that day, Dean clued him into a few tricks. Sam found that memorizing lines from his favorite TV shows – and later, passages from his favorite books - helped him focus in panic-causing situations, especially when he was disoriented. The words gave him a sense of story, of narrative. Direction. Like the bubbles rising to the surface, Sam could follow those sentences back to himself.

Sam's muscles stopped shaking violently. He took a moment and thought, 'With the house on fire, escaping becomes paramount, but first assessment, then preparation, then escape.' 

One of his arms was broken in two places. He could feel it. Something pinned his legs; he couldn't be certain of their condition until he restored their circulation. 

But he was breathing. That's step one, and as much as he didn't want to open his eyes and see where he was, he needed to. Sam pushed his eyelids open, willed his eyes to see, but the dark clouded his vision. 

"Dean?" Sam said. "Dean?" he repeated, a little louder. "Cas? Castiel?"

A column pinned both his legs down. The soot in the air was old; the fire that produced it was either far away or burned out. Another piece of upholstery trapped his arm – 

"Sam?" Castiel spoke. "Sam?"

"Cas," he muttered. "I'm here."

"I need to get you back to the Bunker," Castiel said. 

"Where's Dean?" Sam asked. 

"After I return you to safety, I will find him," Cas explained. 

With a touch of his hand, Sam found himself back in the comfort of the war room. 

"I should heal you. Your injuries are extensive," Cas said as he brought Sam to the couch. 

Sam remembered: conserve heat. He said, "No, you go find Dean."

"It will only take a moment."

"And power," Sam protested. "You need all your strength, and I'm not dying or anything."

"Sam – " Cas began.

"Cas, I mean it. Go! Bring my brother home!"

"I will return shortly."

Castiel disappeared. 

He didn't panic. He conserved heat, power. Now he just had to hold on to his lifeline.

Pain jolted through him. 

His blood was circulating through his legs again, and he hadn't anticipated the level of soreness or smarting. He calmed himself with deep breathing techniques, but the added respiration caused a rise in the pressure in his lower appendages. He literally twitched under the odd discomfort that quickly escalated to extreme pain. 

Sam blacked out for a moment. White spots appeared before his eyes. 

_I never met with a slave who could tell me how old he was. Like other slaves, I cannot tell how old I am. This destitution was among my earliest troubles._

Sam took a deep breath. The pain in his arm didn't throb anymore; it was more of a dull ache. His legs took up his attention. 

_From certain events, however, the dates of which I have since learned, I suppose myself to have been born about the year 1817._

His legs twitched, but he managed to harness his mind. He focused on words, his memories. He forced himself not to care about time, not to wonder why Castiel had yet to return. 

_Brothers and sisters we were by blood; but slavery had made us strangers._

His will evaporated with the words of Frederick Douglass. Where was his brother? Cas had been gone long enough. He turned his head and read the clock - 

Five-fifteen. 

Dean. Where the hell was he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Literary References are from the following:  
> Kurt Vonnegut's _Slaughterhouse Five_  
>  Amy Tang's _The Joy Luck Club_  
>  Ken Kesey's _One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_  
>  Toni Morrison's _The Bluest Eye_  
>  Fredrick Douglass's _My Bondage and My Freedom_


	2. Howling at the Moon

A very long time ago, the Garrison was set to watch over the Earth with Anna as the Captain, and her first task was to organize the soldiers in her care. She appointed Castiel to Lieutenant and to be her second in command.

Before the first seal was broken, Castiel never understood Anna's choice. There were many angels in the Garrison just as powerful, or more so, than he. Uriel specialized in mass destruction. Hester possessed the fiercest, most passionate disposition. Anais was known for his sound judgment and loyalty. Matthon wielded cunning and strength beyond any other angel in the Garrison. Balthazar's unpredictable nature made him impossible to defeat. Rachel's persistence and patience was a formidable force. His brothers and sisters in the Garrison were all beautiful, powerful, magnificent. Only a handful had yet to make a name for themselves, and Castiel was among them. 

Originally, Balthazar's camaraderie with Castiel set him apart but that was no reason for Anna to take such interest in him. Cas asked her more than once, "Why appoint me to your right hand?" She never answered him. For a long time he assumed she selected him to give him the opportunity to ascend like his siblings, so in his time as Lieutenant, Castiel transformed into a force to be reckoned with, beyond the powers of Uriel, Balthazar, Matthon, and Hester. By the time Anna fell, no angel dared to question Castiel's position as the new Captain. 

Heaven ordered the Garrison to lay siege to the Gates of Hell, and Castiel lost not a single soldier. He didn't know at the time that Balthazar planned his escape soon after Dean Winchester was pulled from the pit, and it wasn't until the Civil War in Heaven that he learned of Balthazar's reasons. 

"You gripped that man's soul tight and carried him out of Hell, and as you ascended, your entire essence was transfigured," Balthazar recounted. "Any other angel would have showered the universe in golden light for the pride of their achievement. But you, Castiel, you burned iridescent blue and fierce purple because you had felt agony while in Hell. Not from an injury, but from compassion. Of all things! I don't think you realize that you alone, among all the angels, take humanity that seriously. Some of us think of humans as amusing or interesting, but the majority of our brethren see them as sickly beings. But for some reason, to you and you alone Cas, each soul trapped in that fiery pit was once a beautiful human being, a crafted art from God's hand, and seeing so many tortured and lost in Hell became the definition of horror for you. Which is odd, seeing as how you witnessed the Ice Capades."

Balthazar smiled, but it faded quickly when he continued. "You went into Hell a Warrior of Heaven and a Leader of Angels, but you came out as the Guardian of the Earth, of Humanity. Shocking, I know. I suppose that it seemed like losing you as a friend and Captain. Your mission, your heart, no longer abided with mine. That little realization made me understand that my heart wasn't where I pretended it was. I was created a warrior, but I took after Gabriel, wily and restless and never good at following orders. So, I, uh, split."

After his rather uncharacteristically honest speech, Balthazar added, "I gather you didn't know back then that you changed so much on one mission. Took you a long time, I bet. That's all you, Cas. Self-awareness has never been your strong suit."

Anna never explained to Castiel why she chose him, but he discovered the reason during the Apocalypse. Anna was so curious about humanity that she fell just to experience what it was like to be human. The only other angel in the Garrison that loved humanity that much, that saw humanity as something worthy of protection, something beautiful, something to strive for, was Castiel. Anna planned her fall just as Balthazar planned his escape, and she needed to appoint someone who would continue in her work, in her love of the human race.

Everything felt so long ago. Balthazar and Anna were both dead, and Castiel mourned their absence. But the pain of losing one of his siblings from Heaven was nothing to the idea of losing Dean or Sam. Perhaps Balthazar was right, his mission to save Dean transfigured him forever, or maybe Anna just saw that guardian spirit in him before anyone else could. 

Castiel returned to the wrecked site and used his angelic power to search for Dean. Usually this particular brand of sight honed in on angelic phenomena, or in some rare cases, Heavenly weapons, like Moses's Staff. But Cas had spent so much time with Dean Winchester that his true-form eyes could search a localized area for his presence. 

Dean wasn't here. 

Castiel carefully retraced his steps. Not too far from where he discovered Sam, he spotted small splashes of Dean's blood puddled around. He must've been injured. The angel took his time calculating the blood volume; less than a liter, so wherever Dean was, he was alive. 

The angel walked every possible route Dean could have used, but all of them ended the same: the hunter didn't get up and leave of his own accord. Someone, or something, took him away. Resentment and anger pooled in the angel's inner eye. Someone saw Dean injured on the ground and carried him off, and whoever did it knew enough to cover their tracks from humans and angels.

In other words, whoever captured Dean was no friend to Castiel or the Winchesters. 

Likely suspects? Cas's brain began to list names almost too quickly to keep up. Demonic forces seeking vengeance. Monsters seeking vengeance. Angels trying to lure Cas into a trap -

If something happened to Dean on Castiel's account, he'd never forgive himself. 

_Castiel? Cas... I'm not doing too well here._

It was Sam. The angel disappeared back to the Bunker. 

"Not doing too well" was putting it gently. Infection was starting in on the younger Winchester, and his wounds were more severe than Castiel's original assessment had concluded. The angel clasped Sam's shoulder, and every malady vanished from his body.

"Thanks," Sam said as he sat up. "Whoa, you look terrible."

"Dean wasn't there," Cas replied. "I looked – everywhere. No trace. Nothing."

"What're you saying?"

"I'm saying something took him, and whatever it is - it's smart. It knew we would be looking."

Suddenly, Sam reached out and touched Cas's shoulder. It was strange for him to make physical contact, but in this moment, it alleviated the heavy guilt laying into the angel's chest. 

"Cas, listen to me," Sam said. "We're going to find him, okay? The first thing we need to do is make some calls."

"Make some calls?" Cas echoed. 

"Yeah, that's right. Aaron. Garth. Krissy. Get our feelers out there for anything on Dean, who might've taken him, and why."

"Sam, whoever took Dean is no friend to us. What if – what if we're too late?"

"We won't be," Sam replied, getting to his feet. "No sulking. No moping. Okay Cas? Because we're gonna find Dean and bring him home."


	3. Deuces are Wild

Sam didn't sleep that night. 

He started a spread of every old case the Winchesters had looked into, working almost entirely from memory. He scribbled down names of the culprits, the victims, the survivors, and anyone hurt in the crossfire. By the end of the night, he had scraped together hundreds of cases, going back to the White Woman they put to rest right before Jess died. 

Unfortunately, Sam and Dean had hunted since childhood, and Dean didn't take four years off for college like Sam. Any of Dean's cases from that period of time could be coming back to bite him now, but Dean didn't keep a hunter's journal, just a smattering of notes. 

It was frustrating. Sam's memory was sharp, but he could tell that he missed things. He dug through his journal, his father's journal, and Dean's old notes. With no focus, though, it was like trying to find one grain of rice in a field. 

There was also the issue of his time as a soulless dick; his memory from that period was obliterated by Death's wall. When the wall came down, he retained those events, but they were more like dreams, full of hazy, disjointed facts. Certainly more than a few people hated Sam Winchester from his time as robo-hunter.

Then there was the big stuff. Like how the Winchesters pissed off Fate personally, all three of them actually, by averting the Apocalypse. They had stopped the mega-Leviathan plot to live one-percenter style. They killed off Eve and Lilith. Archangels and Knights of Hell alike fell at their hands – 

Sam should have been comforted by his memories of past success. He wanted to be relieved by it, but hope slipped away from him. Before, he and Dean were together and knew who they were fighting. But now? Sam had no idea, and without his brother, he was just some guy fumbling in the dark. 

As much as Dean tried to make it seem otherwise, Sam had already accepted that he was more a Man of Letters than a hunter. Not the way that Dean was. The part that Sam was good at, the thing he did best, was figuring crap out, research, and right now, he couldn't even manage that. 

Castiel joined him, alleviating some of Sam's stress and self-hatred.

"You can rule out revenge from a human," Cas said without greeting or segue. "I can track a human kidnapping."

"Yeah, but, what if the person's not human anymore? Became a witch, or werewolf, or something," Sam said. "I can't eliminate anyone yet."

"I think we should focus on people who would want vengeance on Dean specifically," Cas said. "And maybe those who would want to set a trap for me."

"Why not me?"

"You were only a few yards from him, and Dean was gone before I arrived. Whoever took Dean could have easily kidnapped you instead, or even both of you," Cas replied. "Between the two of you, they took Dean and only Dean."

"You said they knew how to hide their tracks from angels?" Sam asked.

The angel nodded sadly. 

"That might be good news," Sam said. "Because angels came out in the open about five years ago, right?"

"I suppose, but it is evident from the extensive collection here that the Men of Letters were aware of angelic forces."

"But they were wiped out in the 1950s," Sam said. "So I think it's safe to narrow down the cases – "

He stopped. Could they really do that? What if someone held a long, hard grudge? Someone smart and determined could've tracked the Winchesters for years, and most hunters were aware of angels these days. Finding out about Castiel's close relationship to the Winchesters wouldn't be all that difficult. 

"Damn it," Sam cursed, unable to finish his thought.

"Sam," Cas said, "you've been awake for nearly forty hours. You need rest."

"I can't – "

Castiel reached out and touched his forehead, and Sam fell into a deep slumber. The angel caught him and carried him up to his bedroom. 

Dean had explained to Cas that he needed to learn to pick his battles, and fighting with Sam over his sleep deprivation seemed futile. He would be unhappy later, but at least his body would be rested enough to do so effectively.

 

Dean Winchester opened his eyes, and his first thought was that he was blind. He didn't panic because Cas could heal his sight. He needed to stay calm and figure out where everyone was, so he moved clumsily in the darkness. Sam couldn't be far – 

His hands slipped over rock. Not hewn for a building or cobblestone path, but natural rock. 

And he wasn't blind. His eyes adapted to the dimness, and he could make out basic shapes. There wasn't enough light for anything more than that. Where the hell was he?

His body was weak, but he didn't feel any injury. That was strange because he knew he had taken several hits and at least one nasty blow to the head. He should have a headache – 

"Hello?" Dean spoke. His voice echoed. 

Hot wind billowed towards him, and he plunged into the depths of dreaming.

 

"Hello, Dean."

Castiel sat in the passenger seat of the Impala; Dean was stretched out in the backseat. The car was rolling backwards and downhill with no driver.

"Cas," Dean said, his green eyes flickering. "You should drive."

"There's no need," the angel replied.

"What?"

"You're dreaming."

"What's going on?"

"Sam and I are fine, but we cannot find you. Do you know where you are?"

Dean thought hard. "I think I'm in a cave. I don't know. It was too dark."

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. Did you heal me?"

"No, I couldn't find you," Cas replied. "You were injured. Did you bandage yourself?"

"No, I – I just woke up okay," Dean replied. "I – felt heat coming towards me when I spoke. Was that you?"

"I'm afraid not."

"What's going on?" Dean asked. "Why are we rolling backwards?"

"This is a dream, Dean," the angel said. "We're not going anywhere – "

Castiel disappeared, and Dean Winchester was alone in the Impala, rolling into the darkness.


	4. Behind Blue Eyes

Castiel's eyes absorbed every name Sam Winchester had collected. Dean's dream had revealed nothing to the angel except that he was alive and being held captive. Eliminating people from this list would be the fastest way to discover where Dean was. 

Celestial beings experienced the Earth much differently than mortals and monsters. Castiel believed it had something to do with the interpretation of external and internal stimuli, but he hadn't spent enough time as a human, or semi-human, to understand it. Humans subjected to the supernatural elements of the world had especially strange modes of thought. Dozens of the names on Sam's list were people Dean and Sam saved or rescued. Why would any of them wish to do the Winchesters harm? Why would any of them want to kidnap Dean from his family?

Cas couldn't imagine an answer to that question that made any kind of sense, but he also recognized that his love for the Winchesters clouded his judgment. Perhaps his goal should be to find someone impartial, someone who didn't hate Dean or love him.

His immediate candidate was Death. Unfortunately, his last encounter with the Horseman had been less than positive, and Death might simply kill everyone in the immediate area, simply to be left in peace. 

Metatron, on the other hand, had no particular love for the Winchesters, but unlike every other angel in creation, he harbored no hatred of them, either. If anything, the archangel was in the debt of the Winchesters for protecting the prophet Kevin Tran.

Cas bit his lip. Metatron would not come to a summons from an angel; he hadn't in millennia. That meant Sam would have to be the one to speak with the angel, and right now the hunter was asleep.

The number of witches on the list surprised him. Dozens of practitioners survived encounters with the two hunters; some were by chance, a few by special circumstances. Two names intrigued him: Gary Frankel and Nora. 

Apparently the brothers encountered several teenagers in Housatonic, Massachusetts practicing magic. Due to their youth, a simple promise not to continue on as witches spared their lives. They were both into adulthood now; perhaps maturation caused a regression to witchcraft.

Light bulbs flickered. It took the angel a few seconds to realize he was the one causing it. The seven deadly sins earned their names from their influence not just on humans, but angelic being as well. Cas took a long, deep breath to soothe his nerves. Wrath would do nothing more than explode the bunker's electronics and distract the angel. He needed to stay focused.

Cas anticipated that the hunter would be unconscious for another eight hours at least, so he decided to inspect a number of the humans Sam refused to cross off the list. Invisibility would undoubtedly allow him to cut down the suspect pool substantially.

 

Sam woke up in his own bed, tucked in just like when he had fallen asleep in the car as a young boy. He never knew if it was his father's or brother's doing, carrying his sleeping body from the car to a bed. For the first few minutes after waking, he felt safe and comfortable in a way he hadn't since his time at Stanford.

Then he realized how he must've gotten here, and immediately he became furious. Unfortunately, his exhaustion prevented him from moving quickly. The clock in his room read nine a.m., but even with a ten-hour nap, Sam felt like his body was weighed down with quarry rock. Cas was a sneaky bastard, but he might've been right about this one. That didn't change how Sam felt about it, though, as he stumbled his way to the kitchen for something to eat.

Sam didn't see the angel anywhere. Was that a good thing? Maybe he managed to dream-visit Dean again. As the younger Winchester munched on his cereal, he took a moment to consider the odds that Cas went out on his own – 

"Castiel!" he bellowed. "If you went looking for Dean without me, you better get your ass back here!"

The primary door to the bunker swung opened, and Sam's suspicions were confirmed.

"Cas! I'm in here!" Sam yelled. "Where were you?"

The angel appeared in the kitchen, his clothing a little singed and ruffled.

"What – happened?"

"I started to investigate your list," Cas said. "First some of your human suspects. I ensured that they were still human. Then I moved on to witches."

"You went after witches without backup?"

"I'm an angel," Cas reminded him. 

"Right but – what did you find?"

"Two reformed individuals started their craft again as adults," Cas replied. "I wasted many hours watching them for signs of misconduct, but they seem to draw their power from natural elements instead of demonic influence."

"Who?"

"Gary and Nora, according to your board," Cas replied. "I dissuaded them from practicing their craft for evil."

"With fire?" Sam asked.

The angel nodded.

"Any luck finding Dean?"

"No, they did not kidnap him," Cas said. "They harbor no grudge for him either."

"Well, that's at least two we can cross off the list," Sam replied.

"And the humans," the angel commented mildly. 

"So – how many did you – "

"Thirty-five," he said with an edge to his voice. "Now I need you to summon Metatron."

"Whoa, wait, what?"

"The archangel."

"Why would I summon him?"

"To find Dean," Cas replied.

"Okay, first you knock me out – " Sam began.

Cas interrupted, "No, I merely helped you to sleep. You were exhausted and haunted with insomnia."

"That sounds great, except you basically doped me."

"I don't understand."

Sam huffed. "Don't do shit like that without my permission, Cas. Okay? Didn't Dean shoot you down the last – "

"Your brother was very clear," Cas interrupted. "In the case of needed healing, an exception was granted."

"He was referring to being injured and unconsciousness!" Sam objected.

"Near-delirium is very close to lack of – "

"Cas!" Sam interrupted. 

"I want to find Dean," the angel said. "It has been almost two days. And I – am concerned."

"So am I – "

Cas spoke over him, "About why he was kidnapped."

"So am I."

Cas spoke as clearly as he could. "If Dean was taken to lure me, or you, or both of us out into the open, then why can't we find any trace of him?"

"But if Dean's the target – why is he still alive?" Sam asked. "You spoke to him in his dream, so he must be alive, right?"

"Yes, Dean is still alive."

"Okay, then, that doesn't make any sense," Sam said. 

"Unless they've taken him for more than just killing," Cas said quietly. "To torture or to – to transform – "

"Stop," Sam said, choking over his Cheerios. "Just, you know, don't. We'll figure it out, soon. I promise."

 

Castiel spent the next three hours mapping out the phases of Venus, Mars, the sun, and the moon with notations on denizens of the world that take their cue from such astronomical phenomena. 

"You think werewolves might be behind this?" Sam asked casually.

"I think you should be summoning Metatron."

Sam clenched his jaw. "Fine, but – you can't be with me when I do it."

"That's unacceptable."

"That's the only way I agree."

Cas stared daggers at him; he must've taken that leaf out of Dean's book. "If you are injured – if something happens to you as well, I... you need my protection."

"And if the other angels spot you out in the open with Metatron, what makes you think they won't abduct you?" Sam asked pointedly. "If that happenned and I managed to find Dean, he'd kick my ass."

"Things are different since Naomi was deposed," Cas dismissed. "The angels no longer have orders to kill me."

"Then why Metatron? He doesn't have the same resources – "

"He is the best candidate to help us," Cas interrupted. 

Sam sized up the situation. "I'll summon Metatron, but only if you stay here."

"Sam – "

"It's not up for debate," Sam interrupted. "I'll call if I need help."

 

Sam Winchester lit the match and threw it down, completing the summoning ritual. It occurred to him that this must've been very difficult to do before the era of matches.

He didn't hear the sound of wings over the cocking of a shotgun.

"Hello," Sam said casually, as if people approached one another with shotguns all the time. 

"Sam Winchester," Metatron confirmed. "What do you want?"

"I'm looking for my brother, Dean – "

"I remember."

"He's missing, and Castiel can't locate him. Neither can I."

"You ever consider Dean doesn't want to be found?" Metatron asked. "Maybe he needs a break."

"He's being kept in a dungeon made of solid rock," Sam replied. "Against his will."

"If that's true, then whoever has him knows about his, uh, partnership with Castiel," Metatron said astutely. "So you're assuming the Heavenly host is involved."

"Essentially."

"Except for one thing – they haven't been active recently," Metatron replied. "After that last blowout fight, they sort of left it to you three to clean everything up."

"What?"

"It was necessary to protect Heaven and the souls therein," Metatron replied. "With certain forces at work – "

Sam interrupted, "I guess I just expected more than tuck tail and run from the 'Heavenly Host.'"

Metatron shrugged and lifted his gun, aiming for Sam's heart. "They've been off the Earth for almost a week now. Except me, Castiel, and two surviving members of the Garrison."

"What about them?"

"They're my eyes and ears," the archangel replied. "They wouldn't waste time on Dean Winchester."

"Thanks," Sam replied sarcastically. 

"You wanted answers," Metatron replied before he vanished.

 

Castiel followed Sam, invisible, and waited outside the building when he summoned the archangel. It wasn't exactly as they'd planned, but it was close enough. He couldn't let another Winchester incur harm under his watch.

When Sam got into the Impala, Cas joined him.

"Damn it, Cas," Sam said sounding much like his older brother. "We agreed you'd stay in the bunker."

"Well?"

"It's not the angels," Sam replied. "So only a few dozen others to look into, right?"

Cas's eyes widened, and his entire body tensed. 

"What's up?" Sam asked as he started the car.

"I should be able to find him," Cas said. "Our connection should lead me right to him."

"But the tagging on his ribs – "

"That's only for angels looking for Dean," Cas interrupted irritably. "I'm – he's more than some human to me. Dean is always able to track you down."

"Yeah, when I go off on my own," Sam replied. "Not when I'm kidnapped by knowledgeable sons of bitches."

"We need to go east," the angel said.

"Huh?"

"Another lead," Cas said. "A good one, considering the angels are not involved."


	5. Mysteries & Mayhem

**Glasgow, Kentucky**. Cas had tracked a vampire nest to a large industrial-style housing facility. 

"Seriously, Cas? How is this a lead?"

"One of your notecards claimed you killed a vampire named Luther but his mate, Kate, escaped. Luther was fairly infamous, and Kate's enterprises were easy to follow, as her activities didn't become covert until quite recently."

"Cas, this looks like a housing facility."

"Yes, they went 'legitimate,' as you say, about a year ago. Kate now leads the nest, and they cover their tracks by working odd jobs."

"How do they explain the bodies?"

"They exploit illegal immigrants mostly," Cas said. "I resisted the temptation to obliterate them when I first located them solely because Dean might be held elsewhere." 

"Huh," Sam vocalized.

Cas handed Sam a machete. "I thought you might want to assist me in this endeavor."

The nest had several advantages. Everyone in the building was a vampire, including the security team that monitored the doors. Like any apartment complex, there were locks on all the doors and many flights of stairs to be traversed. It was a good thing Sam Winchester was accompanied by an angel. 

Riley and Frill were the two guards on duty. They lazily watched the TV screens. 

"I'm not lookin' forward to a nigh' out," Riley said. "I mean, there's what, three more people left in the fridge? An' then she's gonna wanna go git more 'fore we run out."

"I dunno, I'm happy to hunt," Frill replied. "Something about it – "

Sam slashed once, twice and took off Frill's head. Before Riley could protest, Cas touched his head, burning out his eyes and mouth. Tossing the bodies aside, the angel motioned for Sam to sit. 

"What?"

"You heard him, they have people in captivity here."

"You think Dean – "

"Maybe. I know they'll have a prison of some kind. They've been here a year without suspicion, so I imagine they have a room of bodies. They must have some kind of discreet disposal method – "

"There," Sam said. One of the basement rooms contained a large number of dismembered bodies. At least, Sam assumed as much because there were a dozen bodiless heads on display across a counter top.

"And there," Cas pointed. Another room, set up like a barracks, contained three people stripped down to their underwear. Each was chained to a bed.

"Dean's not here," Sam said, examining the heads just to be certain. 

"I'll be right back," Cas said as he disappeared.

"Cas?" Sam said. "Damn it."

The hunter pulled out an improvised crossbow; he had a few darts with dead man's blood and a few with vamptonite developed by the Leviathan. By the time he got himself sorted, Cas had moved all the people out of the dungeon. He returned in the blink of an eye.

"Where did you go?"

"I dropped them off across the state," the angel replied.

"Kate is in room 401."

"There are almost twenty vampires," Cas said. "It will go faster if we separate."

The angel handed off a set of keys. "This will help you move from room to room," he said gruffly. "I'll start at the bottom floor, work my way up to you."

"Cas, wait – "

Too late. Sam caught a glimpse of the angel in Room 101. He decapitated both residents before moving on to the next room. It appeared that Cas didn't want to use his smiting powers in this instance, though Sam wasn't sure why. 

The security room was on the third floor, so Sam moved out to the nearest room, 305. He popped the door open with no effort.

"Jamie, it's about time – " a woman called. 

The crossbow made a flippant twang sound as the Winchester hit the vamp in the chest with some dead man's blood. One step and a huge swing brought her head off. 

Remembering that he might need to subdue Kate for questioning, he stowed two darts of dead man's blood and loaded up the vamptonite. He moved through the six rooms on the third floor effortlessly, separating the heads from two more vamps and taking down another with Dick Roman's special sauce. At least the crazy Leviathans cooked up something worthwhile.

He moved up to the fourth floor, and Castiel joined him.

"What took you so long?" the angel asked.

"I'm gonna capture Kate, you handle the rest?" Sam asked.

Cas nodded. The hunter unlocked the door for room 401. Clearly the nest had grown lethargic, since not a single one of the fallen vamps managed to warn their leader with so much as a scream. She didn't even see the dart coming.

 

Kate was tied down in her own room, her teeth flashing out. She was pissed.

"Remember me?" Sam asked.

Kate didn't respond.

"Where is Dean Winchester?" Cas asked. 

"Who?"

Cas brought his fist down over the vampire's hand. The sound it made reminded Sam of a mallet cracking open pistachios. She screamed.

"Where is Dean Winchester?" Cas asked again.

"Why would I know?"

"Because me, my dad, and Dean took down Luther," Sam said.

Kate's eyes flashed and a smile twisted across her face. "Yeah? Three is down to one and a new sidekick," she growled. "Can't say I'm too upset."

"Where is Dean Winchester?" Cas repeated.

"I don't know," she said. "I'm not stupid enough to go after hunters anymore."

"But you have been killing – " Sam said.

"I'm a vampire!" she yelled. "Of course I've been killing."

Cas landed another cracking blow to Kate, this time to her knee. "Where is he?"

"I told you, I don't know. I hope he's dead for what he did to Luther!"

Cas's rage emanated from his body; his eyes glowed blue.

"I think she's telling the truth," Sam said.

"I agree," the angel replied. He grabbed Kate's face and liquefied it with flame. Her scream curled up with the smoke from his fingers, and as her lifeless body fell slack against her, Cas returned to his normal appearance. 

"Feel any better?"

"Marginally," the angel replied. "Let's go."

"Go?" Sam asked.

"East. We've another stop."

 

 **Charlotte, North Carolina**. Donald Stark had left Prosperity, Indiana after he and his wife caused a little too much chaos. That kind of thing drew attention from more than just hunters. They wound up in North Carolina after considerable debate, mostly because of the development opportunities and the culture. Maggie just loved the cultural scene.

The trouble with changing towns was the transition. Why did you two move here? What part of Indiana? The occasional question about family members or past employment was easier to deal with. After all, the Starks had been lying about that for hundreds of years. 

"The Gala is important, Don," Maggie said pointedly. "You need to be there."

"Maggie, you can't – you should've told me about this weeks ago. I can't be canceling meetings and moving my schedule around at the last minute – " 

"I told you last week!"

"Last week you said it was no big deal – "

"Oh, right, like you were even listening!"

"We're interrupting," Castiel said quietly. 

Don and Maggie Stark stopped bickering to see that two people had joined them in their living room, and while Maggie couldn't quite tell what Castiel was, she knew he wasn't human. The other man – 

"You," she said. "I know you."

"Sam Winchester," he replied. 

"Ah, right," Don said. "Is there some reason you and your – uh, whatever you are – "

"This is my friend Cas," Sam interrupted. "We're just seeing what you two have been up to."

"Since you failed to kill us the last time," Maggie snapped. "Nice. Wasn't there another one? I remember a different guy tried to kill us with that spell."

"His name is Dean," Cas replied, "and he's missing."

"That's why we're here," Sam said.

"You think we had something to do with it?" Don asked. "Sorry, barking up the wrong tree. We've better manners than that."

"Except that you tried to kill us after we saved your marriage," Sam said to Maggie. "So maybe you still wanted to exact your revenge."

"Saved our marriage?" Maggie barked. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

She waved her hand to knock Sam on his ass, and he felt the heat of a heavy weight pressing against him. He wasn't sure why nothing else happened until he saw Castiel.

His entire body glowed white, and the weather outside had taken a turn from the sounds of rain and thunder. A sound – one that Sam long ago equated with 'the abyss' for lack of a better description – screamed out as his shimmering blue eyes burned and the shadows of his wings filled the room. 

Maggie Stark was knocked onto the ground with her own magic. Don quickly joined her, ducking behind the coffee table to protect her. 

"Where is Dean Winchester?" Cas asked, full angel-of-the-lord adding a thunderclap to his words. 

"Nice," Don remarked mildly. "I take it you're an angel, then?"

"Where is Dean Winchester?" Cas repeated.

"I told you, we don't know!" Maggie yelled. "Why would we care? He's just a hunter!"

Cas dropped the blinding angel routine, and the weather returned to normal in the blink of an eye. "How did you escape the maelstrom?"

"The maelstrom?" Don asked as he helped his wife back to her feet. "Oh, you mean the war that was raging in the supernatural world?"

"What the hell else do you think he means?" Sam asked.

"I have no idea, never chatted with an angel before," Don replied mildly. 

"I don't see why angels would be involved," Maggie agreed. "He's just a hunter. He couldn't even kill us."

"He is not just a hunter!" Castiel bellowed. He found himself struggling against Sam, who was holding him back from annihilating the Starks on principle. 

"Witches were falling left, right, center in the last few months," Sam pointed out, finally getting Cas to stop. "Seems like the kind of thing you two couldn't escape."

"Right, because all witches are the same," Maggie replied. "Please."

"Whoever was fighting over whatever wasn't our concern," Don said. "We keep our noses out of other people's business. Maybe you should give it a try."

"How can we be sure they're not lying?" Cas asked not so quietly to Sam. "They're witches. They'd do anything to save their own lives."

"Excuse me," Maggie started. "Who gives you the right to judge us? We set roots. We give back to the communities where we live – "

"And kill tons of people instead of getting therapy," Sam muttered. "Look, I'm not judging you. God knows I've killed plenty of people. But you're among the few people powerful enough to kidnap him and cover your tracks, and you're not some ostriches with your heads in the sands."

"Meaning?" Don asked pointedly. 

"What do you know?" Sam asked. "You could easily shazam yourselves outta here. If you knew nothing, you'd've already left."

"This is our home, we don't let people run us out of it," Maggie replied. Her anger was drumming up localized tremors, and Sam didn't like it.

"Maggie," Don said quietly. "We don't need this to be Prosperity all over again."

She calmed down and sat on the couch, which was the farthest seat in the room from Castiel. 

"Fine," she grunted. "In the past year, our ability to cast spells has been reduced to almost nothing. After what little we managed to win back, we could kidnap someone I guess. But it sure as hell wouldn't be your brother."

"And we're not the only ones," Don added as he joined her. "A lot of our old contacts, other witches, other beings - the ones that are still alive, they've lost a lot of their resources and power."

"Closing the Gates of Hell," Castiel commented, "reduced the supernatural energy on the earth, especially for those seeking demonic assistance through witchcraft."

"Don't look at us," Maggie said. "We use completely different – "

"You're looking in the wrong place," Don interrupted his wife. "Even if an entire coven of witches was gunning for your brother, they wouldn't be able to cloak themselves from – uh, him." He gestured uncertainly to Castiel. "Clearly we couldn't."

"Right," Sam conceded quietly. "Sorry for ruining your evening," he added as he took Cas's arm. 

"But, they're – " Cas protested.

"They don't have Dean," Sam said. "Let's go."

The flutter of wings echoed as they left. 

"We have got to get a better security system," Maggie said.

"Oh, love, don't pout," Don placated. "We will. Promise."

 

 **Erie, Pennsylvania**. Castiel teleported both of them to a graveyard at dusk. Sam disliked the entire plan, but he at least convinced the angel to hold back until nighttime so they would have some cover.

"Cas, if we find out this guy isn't the one..." Sam said.

"Then we kill him and move on," Cas said. 

"But he's kept himself alive with science, not magic," Sam said. "You sure you can?"

Cas turned his head irritably at the younger Winchester. Dean could be infuriating, but he would happily take the elder hunter's annoyances over Sam's right now. He was certain his rage was mostly frustration bottled up, but Sam's constant questioning of his abilities amplified the situation.

"A man that has exploited the basic premise of molecules and DNA to gain immortality will die, for lack of a better word, when his soul is taken by an angel and handed off to a reaper," Cas replied tritely. 

"A reaper? Is there one to - " Sam began.

"No, Sam!" Cas snapped. "But there will be if I pull his soul out of his body!"

"I'm just asking!"

"Your constant asking is slowing us down!" the angel yelled back. "We could've checked this out hours ago, but instead we waited, now we're wasting more time with – "

"Get over yourself!" Sam managed to interrupt. "I get it, you miss Dean and want him back. You blame yourself. But going around randomly and pissing people off – like the Starks – that's not gonna find him. Neither is getting arrested because we started digging up a grave in the middle of the day."

"Where did you bury him?" Cas asked, ignoring what Sam said.

"Over here," Sam said. 

The original headstone simply read STANLEY FREDERICK REDDING (1847 – 1891). They had moved Redding's coffin and replaced it with a heavy-duty refrigerator chained shut with pure iron. If Dean had it his way, they would have left no mark, no way for anyone to know that hunters had been here. That way only Sam and Dean would know where Doc Benton, the immortal alchemist, was buried alive. 

Sam thought it was too much of a risk, so he added a marker to the grave: a simple pattern of three dots arranged in a triangle above Stanley Reddick's name. He examined the grave quickly before digging in. The earth hadn't been disturbed recently. 

Cas began digging without further ado, and Sam joined him. For the next hour or so, the huffy silence was alleviated by heavy lifting. Sam wondered quietly if angels dealt well with manual labor or if Cas's determination alone propelled his abilities. Whatever the reason, they uncovered the grave much more quickly than he and Dean had ever managed. 

"Wait," Sam said warningly. "There was a book."

"A book?"

"Doc Benton's work was in a book. We buried it with him. It should've – we should've passed it."

"There was nothing but dirt," Cas said quietly. 

"So then, maybe he is – "

Clanking and coughing stopped Sam in his tracks. Someone dug up the book but left Doc Benton to rot? Cas waved for Sam to step back, then he removed the chains with flicks of his wrists. The crackle-pop of the refrigerator door opening brought with it a strong stench. 

Doc Benton wasn't dead, but a lot of his body had died off since Sam and Dean buried him. 

"Who's there?" the monster asked without moving. Maybe he couldn't move. 

"Who would dig up your book and leave you behind?" Sam asked. 

"Lots of people," Benton replied. "You're – you're one of the ones who put me here!"

Cas met Sam's eye. "Whoever dug the book up hasn't been here in years," the angel said. Sam nodded in agreement.

The angel normally plunged his arm into the body to touch a person's soul, but this time he remained distant. Maybe because of the state of his mortal coil, or maybe because of his scientific modifications, Sam wasn't sure. Doc Benton screamed out as the angel freed his soul from his rotting body and released it into the air. 

Sam imagined that a reaper took it, but he couldn't see one either way.

"Another dead end," the angel announced. 

"And a few dozen more to look into," Sam said, trying to keep his nose to the grindstone. "Come on, back to the bunker."


	6. Citadel

"Huh," Sam said as he reviewed the board in front of him. 

"You have something?"

"Stark was right."

Cas was confused. "About what?"

"About the lack of supernatural activity. Not just witches, but everything. I've contacted Dodge, since she's back at the FBI and has all her resources again, and her alert – it's not finding any cases. Aaron Bass and the Judah Initiative don't have anything. Nothing. Nada. All Garth has is a little bit of spirit activity."

"Meaning what?" Cas asked.

"I don't know, but we're running out of candidates," Sam said.

"Maybe we should focus on the most recent cases you and your brother worked." 

"Jake Pond," Sam said quietly. "Dean killed his mother. But he's – "

"It's not him. I found him in Illinois with relatives. He might be a monster but he doesn't kill people," the angel replied.

Sam crossed him off the board. "Cas, you need to – "

"I know!"

"Then why didn't you cross him off?"

"I forgot. There were a dozen people – "

"You need to cross them off one at a time," Sam said. "Or better yet, stop going out alone looking for Dean. We should be working on this together – "

"I don't require sleep, and I am able – " Cas began.

"Cas!" Sam interrupted. "Your abilities are not the problem! Yeah, Cas, you're an angel and can zap most of the bad crap we deal with, but you're also Dean's partner."

"That only means my dedication to finding him should be stronger than yours!" Cas retorted. 

"What?" Sam said, over-articulating the word. "I'm his brother, Cas. He's my blood. There's nothing strong than that!"

Cas rolled his eyes. "You both do this. You say family is so important, but it always comes down to blood. No matter how much I love – how many times you tell me I'm family, it always comes down to blood."

Sam took Castiel's shoulders in his hands and pulled him uncomfortably close. "Blood has nothing to do with family, Cas. Don't be stupid, we don't – "

"You do!" Cas said defensively. "And all you do is question every little thing. Is it possible to do that? Can we even find that person? It's highly annoying, and every second we waste appeasing your mistrust of me, Dean remains captured and alone!"

Sam backed off. So many worms skittered out of the now-opened can, and he didn't even know where to start.

"You think this is about trust?" Sam asked.

"If it's not about my abilities or trust, what else is it about?" Cas asked. "You're maddening!"

"This is about keeping our emotions in check," Sam said, bringing his voice down. "You can be as powerful as you want, Cas, but that doesn't mean you're being smart. I didn't question the crap out of you because I thought you couldn't do it. I did it because it helps me clear my head, and it prepares me. And you."

Cas squinted his eyes, which usually indicated a confusing thought. "You're saying you've been this obnoxious because you're trying to help me cope with Dean's kidnapping?"

"Thanks, Cas, for putting it so nicely."

"I don't understand."

"Cas – you can kill off everyone on this board. But that won't get us Dean back if they've hidden him somewhere," Sam said calmly. "And you're not invulnerable, and neither am I. I want to burn the world down to find him, too, Cas, but we need each other to do this."

Cas turned away. He felt foolish and ignorant, and he didn't want to meet Sam's eye.

"Cas, I'm – uh, I'm not doing very well," he said, his voice breaking only slightly. "And I'm keeping it together because I have you. I need you, okay? We need each other, and I just – please, I'm not the bad guy here."

The angel turned back to Sam. "I'm sorry; I didn't that you were."

There was an awkward hug that Cas initiated, but it substantially lowered the tension between them. 

"Shall we continue?" Cas said.

"Okay, right. There was at least one dragon that survived our investigation," Sam said. "Maybe more. We know they resurrected Eve. Maybe one of them wanted a little revenge."

"Dragons are difficult to track, but – "

"What?"

"They steal virgins, and Dean hardly qualifies," Cas said. "And they're not patient, either. They collect gold, not hostages."

"Unless this is Eve trying to come back," Sam said. "Since Dean was the one who managed to kill her when she was topside last time, I'm sure there're lots of spells that might use him or his blood to pull her back."

Cas considered this for a moment. "Very well, but I haven't tracked a dragon before."

"We're gonna need an expert."

Castiel's insides retched. He killed Dr. Visyak, their last expert on dragons, years ago on his quest to find Purgatory. "Who?"

Sam pulled out his phone. "Benny."

"Benny? But he's a vampire, not a dragon – "

"He's spent longer in Purgatory than anyone else we know. And he told Dean he spoke with quite a few dragons while he was down there."

 

Benny Lafitte was on a mission. He had to remind himself of that periodically, especially now, as he sat in a smoke-filled room inhaling deeply. It was the only way to purge the psychotropic elements he used on his spirit journey. 

That sounded ridiculous to the vampire. He was only here trying to make peace with his past as a vampire so he could purge his soul to become human again. Still, so far the process was working. He had come to some kind of local shaman or something, a human, and asked for help without fear of his bloodlust forcing him away. His lust for blood was reduced to a mere hunger, which meant he could be around people again. 

Kuravi, the first phoenix, had promised him he would lose his bloodlust, and she had been right. For the first time in a long time, he had hope. He completed the first two requirements of his trial, but this last one was more painful and more daunting than he imagined. Staying off human blood had made everything slightly easier, but there were times when his fangs descended and his body wanted to lash out. Flight or fight response – it's primal. 

He felt so human.

Human enough to be annoyed at the constant vibration at his side. Dean Winchester was one persistent son of a bitch.

He abandoned his reflections, so he could answer his phone. 

"Yeah?" Benny said.

"Benny, it's Sam."

"Huh, sure was't expec'ing you," he said. "You callin' for a reason?"

"Dean's missing, and so far we're coming up empty."

"Missin'? Fer how long?"

"Four days."

Benny's heart didn't function, but if it did, it would've skipped a few beats. He replied, "An' you think he's still alive?"

"We know it. Cas was able to reach out to him in his dreams."

"Well, tha's somethin' at leas'."

"Look, we've narrowed it down, and we're stuck. Can you help us?"

"Wit' wha' exac'ly?" Benny asked.

"Dragons."

Benny laughed. He stopped when he realized Sam was serious. "You wan' me to help you wit' dragons? Why woul' those scaly freaks bother with Dean an'way?"

"We, uh, killed one of them a few years ago," Sam said. "But another one got away. Figured he might want revenge."

"Revenge? If Ol' Firebeard wants revenge, he lights your ass on fire," Benny said. "Dragons don't kidnap."

"Dean killed Eve."

"Sorry, what?"

"After the dragons resurrected her, Dean was the one who killed her."

"Damn," Benny swore. "Still, dragons arn't subtle. They kill an' move on."

"But what if there's a ritual involving his blood? Or body?"

"Like what?"

"Like, raising Eve with the blood of her slayer," Sam said lamely. 

"Now tha's just stupid," Benny replied. 

"What?"

"How'd they raise 'er the firs' time?"

"Something to do with kidnapping a virgin and something about fire," Sam admitted. "We didn't get all of it."

"Sam, don' git a big head ov'r this," the vampire began, "but kidnapping a virgin is ten times easier than grabbing Eve's Slayer, especially if it's a hun'er like Dean. I mean, you guys gotta angel with ya all the time. Dragons are still alive 'cuz they've got some sense."

"You're saying it's not possible?"

Benny exhaled long and slow. "I'll, uh, have a look into it, the possibilities. But from what I hear' in Purgatory, killin' you or Dean would be fine. Kidnappin'? That's just weird."

"It's not demons or witches, so if you can think of anyone else – "

Benny replied flippantly, "I dunno. You boys do piss a lotta people off. You try the Tooth Fairy?"

Sam laughed a little. "Keep in touch."

"Yeah, sure thin'."

 

Castiel saw immediately that Sam had a new idea.

"What?" the angel asked.

"The Tooth Fairy."

"Sam, are you – "

"Fairies. Dean and I have dealt with them before, and the first time they tried to kidnap him or something. Take him to Avalon as a servant or to eat him or something."

"That's not on this board," Cas said. "Why not?"

"Well, because we ran into Gilda and she didn't try to kidnap him, so I figured – "

"The demon you called Meg helped us against Crowley on several occasions. That doesn't mean she wouldn't kill you and Dean had she managed to slaughter the King of Hell," Cas interrupted angrily. "Tell me more."

"Uh, well – "

"What?"

"That was when I was missing my soul, so some of the details are a little, uh, well, less than clear."

"Tell me what you remember."

"Aliens. That's how the fairies covered their tracks. A Leprechaun had made a deal with a local guy and they kidnapped firstborn children as a price. Dean was the only one who could see them, though."

"Yes, I remember that happened on a more recent case," the angel replied. 

"You think maybe they finally took him?" Sam asked. "I mean, it's been years."

"But their interest may have been renewed since he encountered the dark elves, who are from the same realm. From what I understand, fairies don't allow survivors."

"But I broke the spell, the – "

"You and your brother are excellent hunters. I don't recollect the fairies letting anyone escape before. Freeing people, maybe, but not escaping."

"How do we find out?" Sam asked. "We could summon them – "

"No, that's too risky," the angel said. "If they know about Dean's history, which they must by now, they'll be prepared for an attempt to rescue him. It would be like trying to save him from a citadel on the moon."

"What?" Sam said, wondering if he heard the angel correctly. 

"Fairies don't have power like demons or angels. They're on a completely different spectrum. I might be able to fight and kill them, but they wield considerable force in their own right. And since Avalon is a different realm, plane, if you will, it operates under different rules. Gravity is different there."

"So when you say a citadel on the moon," Sam began. "You really mean a – "

"Yes, of course, what else would I mean?" Cas asked irritably. "We've wasted four days looking at dead-ends with witches and demonic forces and alchemists and all this time – "

"Whoa, slow down. What about the dragons?"

"It's – the fairies make more sense," the angel said. 

"But my point is, we don't know. So let's find a gentle way to pursue it," Sam said. "I mean, the Starks gave us some good intel. So, maybe the dragons or the fairies will talk."

Sam almost laughed. Dragons and fairies. He never thought he'd be talking about dragons and fairies as possible suspects in a case, but here he was.

Castiel's expression became less readable, as if he drifted off somewhere in a daydream. Sam gave him a minute, but soon the angel's composure crumbled completely. Usually his frustrations were snapped out in thunder, but this was different. It was like all the color, all the light from his body drained downward towards his feet. 

"Cas?"

"I can't – " he said, his voice suddenly small. "I don't know how to do this."

Sam had been spending so much time forcing himself to work through the pain, the fear, everything... He hadn't even considered the toll this was having on Cas, who loved Dean just as much, if not more, than Sam did. The angel's face dripped with tears, and his body drooped. 

Sam guided Cas to a chair and sat him down.

"Cas, take it easy."

"I can fight anything, anything Sam – fairies, dragons, angels – I can fight them. All I need to know is who to fight. Just tell me who and I'll get your brother back."

"Okay, breathe," Sam instructed, holding Castiel's hands. "You've been bottling this up, Cas, and it'll burn you out. That's what's happening right now. Okay? So just breathe for me – "

"I don't understand – " Cas said. "My vessel is – it's – "

"Don't worry about that," Sam said. It was clear, though, that Castiel needed an explanation. "Sometimes when people repress or suppress their emotions, it has a physical effect on the body."

"Like this?"

"Yeah, like this. I imagine you've suppressed enough to kill a man."

"But why – why now?"

Sam shook his head. "I dunno."

"You're repressing. Why are you okay?" Cas asked, sounding annoyed that his vessel could influence him so harshly. 

"You have been knocking me out and forcing me to sleep," Sam said with a little annoyance. "Sometimes that can keep stuff like this from happening."

Sam waited beside Castiel, someone he considered a family member, someone he loved, and held his hand, waiting for him to calm down. It almost felt like having a normal life, even if only for a little while.

 

Dean Winchester was no longer alone. He looked over at the other man who joined him. He was fit, tall, and good-looking. 

Dean cursed himself; his relationship with Castiel had suddenly made him size up every man he met in a dark cell. Or maybe the isolation was just getting to him. He couldn't really be certain. How long had he been in here?

"I'm Dean," he said to the other man. 

"Dean? Are you real?" the man asked.

"As far as I know, but I've been in here by myself for a while." 

"I just – I was just minding my business, and then – "

"What's your name?" Dean asked.

"Kelvin," he said. 

"You gotta last name to go with that?"

"Colt. Kelvin Colt."

Dean laughed. "Really? Are you sure you're real?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Just, the last guy I knew named Colt was – uh, well, he had a special job and a very special gun."

"Samuel Colt," Kelvin said. "Is that who you mean?"

"Uh – yeah," Dean hedged. "Why – "

"I'm one of his descendants," Kelvin replied. "Obviously Colt's not the family name anymore, but I took it as an alias."

"You're a hunter?" Dean asked. 

"I'm guessing you are too," he said. "Assuming you heard 'o Samuel Colt with his gun. Or maybe this is just me hallucinating."

"I'm Dean, Dean Winchester," he said. 

"Ah, I've heard of a Sam Winchester."

"I'm his brother."

"Good company to keep, I hope," Kelvin said. 

"You got any idea where we are?" Dean asked. "Why we're here?"

"Dozens of things on this planet want to kill me," Kelvin said. "I imagine your list is just as long."

"Yeah, sorry."

"Don't be."

"I got people looking for me," Dean said.

"Lucky you," Kelvin replied. "I don't think anyone would care if I died."

"Hey, don't sound so glum."

"After the case I just worked," Kelvin said. "This is nice. The hallucination-friend. The darkness. No bodies with weird graffiti carved into them."

"Hey, you're my hallucination-friend," Dean said. He was only half-joking.


	7. Underture/Overture

**Beaufort, Utah**. Both of them were sitting under the cap of Sam's pickup truck outside a church, of all places. In recent months, a particularly devout group had drawn in a new following, and rumors pointed to Leviathan shenanigans. That's what landed the two of them outside the Capital Rivers Church in the dead of night. On a hunch, no less. 

"See," Cas said as a woman walked by. Sam recognized her as one of the women close to Dick Roman, but Cas could see through to her Leviathan core. 

"Cas, you sure you're going to be okay with this?"

The angel glared at Sam. "Slaughtering the vampire's nest made me feel better," he said calmly. "I am certain this will have a similar effect."

"Okay, well, thanks to Charlie, we've got eyes inside this place, but I can't tell you which ones – "

Cas interrupted, "I can see Leviathan on the screen. I can't tell them apart through the grainy picture, though."

"We don't need to," Sam said. "Just who bleeds black."

"Those two," Cas pointed to two large men that looked like bouncers. "And her."

"That's it?" Sam said, proffering his laptop.

Cas stared for a long time. "Yes, those are the only three. The others are human."

"That's at least ten people, Cas," Sam said. "Any ideas?"

One of the bouncer-Levis left his post, and Cas nodded. "Just one."

He disappeared. 

"Cas – what the – " Sam started.

Cas appeared behind the remaining bouncer and grabbed his head in his hands. Fire erupted from his eye sockets, and Sam could hear the screams from outside the church. Sam wondered about the angels of the Garrison, wiped out by the Leviathan. Would they have survived with Castiel to lead them? Certainly angels could kill the big gooey chompers - 

His thoughts were interrupted by Castiel's return. 

"What was that?"

"There are only two Leviathan," Cas said mildly. "And we need her alive for questioning."

"Right, you still haven't explained how you plan on doing that."

Cas waved his hand to a bag; it contained a heavy blanket. It was wet and – 

"Cas, seriously? A wet blanket is your plan?"

"It's soaked in borax solution. Wrap it around her and I will teleport us to that abandoned shack."

"Oh, easy as pie," Sam said. "Cas, I thought we agreed not to do this. You're being reckless, we can't just go around – "

"It's time," Cas interrupted as the second bouncer-Levi and the female Levi left the church, as if following the scent of their prey.

The angel teleported out again without Sam, forcing him to climb out of the back with his machete. He ran towards the smell of burning flesh and the screaming to find one Leviathan down already. 

Cas wasn't fairing as well with the female Leviathan, who manage to throw him down and stomp on him mercilessly. He was disoriented, barely aware of the Leviathan's horrible, gaping mouth –

CRACK! Sam had enough experience from locker rooms to know how to snap a wet towel. Admittedly, the blanket was larger and it looked ridiculous, but it hit the Leviathan square in the jaw and erupted her flesh into a sizzling mess. 

Cas rolled over, grabbed Sam's machete, and lopped her head off. 

"Cas! What the hell?" Sam found himself saying again. "We need to question her."

"It's easier to transport them when they're decapitated," Cas said, as if it were an obvious fact Sam should be aware of. "We'll re-attach her head once we get there."

Sam wrapped her body in the blanket, and with no more ado, they disappeared before the sound of the police sirens came any closer.

 

The female Leviathan screamed as the blanket crackled her flesh, but her head reattached just the same. While it slowed her down, she was a formidable foe, and as they had no true method of binding a Leviathan, they ended up decapitating her and keeping her head away from her body.

"Once I get my body back," she threatened, "I'm gonna eat you. Both of you."

"Good plan," Sam said idly. "But first, what did you do with Dean Winchester?"

"Dean Winchester?" she spat. "When he stabbed our leader, he was dragged into that Hell – "

"Purgatory," Castiel corrected.

"Whatever," the Leviathan's head spat, "and that's the last I've seen of him."

"He's been out of Purgatory for two years, there, uh – " Sam said, but then he stopped and turned to the angel, "What's this one's name, Cas?" 

"Originally, her name was Even," Cas said.

"Fuck you!" she barked.

"Even?" Sam repeated casually. "Did she have a twin named Odd?" 

"It's Hebrew, you moron," Even replied. "For Stone."

"Seriously? Your name is Stone? That's horrible," Sam laughed.

"When I swallow you whole – " she began.

"Where is Dean Winchester?" Cas asked.

"I told you," Even replied. "I was wearing this woman – Susan – working for Dick Roman – "

"Choshek," Cas corrected. "Although his given name was Mayim."

"How dare you speak his name – "

"He did help kill him," Sam said. "I know Mayim is water in Hebrew, right? Choshek is – "

"Darkness," Cas said. With his angel sword, he sliced open part of Even's cheek. She barely flinched. 

"That tickles," she griped. "But let's face it. You could fry Frick and Frack back there because they were low-level grunts. You can't do that to me, can you, sweetie?"

"The only reason you are alive is because I need to find Dean Winchester," Cas said. "Tell me where he is."

"I. Don't. Know," the Leviathan replied. "I got my own little buffet after our leader died."

Sam closed in on her, "You're lying."

"Think about this: if Dean got out of Purgatory, so can he. And when he does, you're gonna be worse than puppy chow!"

"I don't think she is lying, Sam," Cas said to the hunter. "Even was known for her eye for detail, and she's too arrogant to keep a secret like Dean's captivity. She'd rub our noses in it."

"I'm tired," Sam said. "If this _thing_ knows nothing, then let's go."

Cas took an odd measure of enjoyment in smiting her. If Sam was concerned before, now he was downright worried. When that Hellhound killed his brother, when Dean was sent to Hell, Sam had fallen apart. He took out his self-hatred and wrath by working himself nearly to death, and it seemed like Cas was trying that route.

That never ended well.

 

Returning to the truck, which was just outside of the crime scene that Sam and Cas had just created, was probably not the smartest idea. In the end, Cas had to set two officers to sleep before they could leave.

"Don't worry, they can't read your license plate," the angel said quietly. 

Sam sighed and said, "I've got nothing against taking out Leviathan or vampires or anything else in our way, but Cas – that wasn't a good plan. You could've been Levi-chow."

"You were there."

"Barely. I've lost one brother, I don't want to lose another. You understand?"

Cas waited a few moments with the silence only broken by the sound of the car's motor.

"Someone knows something, Sam," Cas said. 

Sam bit his lip. "I dug up something interesting in the books. It's a spell that induces an angel nap."

"What?"

"So if you continue acting like this, I'll use it."

"You wouldn't."

"We do things smart, or you take a time out."

Cas huffed.

"You think I won't use it?" Sam asked.

"No, I am certain you will," Cas replied.

 

Castiel never understood the pantheon of human emotions, and now they eluded him even more. Every moment he spent without Dean made his essence sorrowful, and while they spent time apart under normal circumstances, Cas usually knew where his hunter was. His vessel seemed heavier than usual and even his Grace was sluggish. 

Sam's company warmed him. When the younger Winchester woke up and came down into the war room, the angel became stronger, felt more alert. 

"Cas, you've been here all night?"

"Not sleeping has its perks," Cas replied.

"Remember what I said about emotions?"

"Repressing them is bad," Cas replied. "But Dean does it continuously and seems to thrive because of it."

"Cas, you of all people know better than that."

Cas shook his head. "Yes, but – he manages."

"I'm just saying you shouldn't stop yourself... I mean, you should let yourself feel it and deal with it when it happens, instead of having it overwhelm you."

"I met with Gilda," Cas said without segue. "The fairy. She was amicable about the meeting."

"Great did she – "

"It's not the fairies," Cas said. He sounded painfully tired. 

"Wha – are you sure?"

"She brought me proof. The fairies explicitly outlawed the capture of Dean and Sam Winchester. Bringing either of you into the Fairy Realm or to Avalon without your consent is punishable by death."

"What?" Sam asked, wondering if this was all some strange dream.

"You and your brother did eliminate Galaad, Nain Rouge. Many fairies believed he would attempt to return to Avalon to reclaim his throne, which would be – undesirable."

"So they gave Dean a free pass?"

"Well, that and you and your brother made an impression years ago when you broke the fairy deal. Most people wouldn't survive a fight with a Leprechaun."

"That is one of the strangest sentences I've ever heard," Sam said. 

They both laughed. The fondness Castiel felt for Sam grew. His bond with the younger Winchester had always been more tenuous, less stable, than his connection with Dean. Originally, it was because of Sam's fervent misinformation in regards to angels. Before the hunters met Castiel, Dean never believed in such a creature, but Sam had invested himself in the idea. He had, from a child, believed in Guardian Angels, the kind who linger around just one person for their entire life. 

The idea was foolish and childish, yet in spite of everything Sam Winchester grew up with, he held onto it. Meeting real angels, the warriors and soldiers of God, shook Sam's faith profoundly. In many ways, it broke his heart, or at the very least, his spirit. Dean, never having a belief in the benevolence of angels to begin with, was merely upset by their lack of tact. Hope was dangerous. If Sam had less hope, averting the Apocalypse might have been far easier on him. 

Cas was afraid hope would lead him down the same path. He hoped Dean was still alive, but what if the moments when he was able to dream-visit Dean were just some kind of spell? What if Dean was already dead, and whoever was responsible was just covering their tracks?

"Cas?" Sam said. "What's up?"

"I just – Dean's dream last night was dark and empty. He said he had a hallucination-friend with him now."

"That's good. Maybe he's not being held alone anymore."

"Or maybe he's dead," Cas said. "And my ability to visit him in dreams is just a delusion. A coping mechanism."

Sam was stunned. "That's not possible."

"Isn't it?"

"What makes you think that's the case?"

"A hallucination-friend?" Cas asked. "Named Colt. After his ancestor. Dean wouldn't even dream something that ridiculous."

"Kelvin Colt?" Sam asked. "Is that what Dean said?"

The angel met Sam's eye. "What?"

"Did Dean give you the name Kelvin Colt?"

"How did you know – "

"Cas, that's – that's not a delusion or a hallucination. I actually bumped into this guy, or I guess just talked with him on the phone, months ago. I had a case in Chicago with Dodge – "

"I thought that was a human serial killer," Cas said. 

"Yeah, the Penthouse Killer. He attacked this guy Harper who was actually a reformed werewolf. Kelvin Colt helped Harper and his wife prevent transformation, cage themselves during the full moon, that kind of thing. He's a hunter."

"Dean could simply be hallucinating him," Cas said.

"No! No, he couldn't – because I never told him about Kelvin," Sam said. "We weren't on the best of terms, and I wasn't sure Dean would go for the whole free werewolf thing."

The angel's heart began to race. "You're certain?"

"Yeah, and better yet, if they took Kelvin Colt, then whoever's behind this is targeting hunters. And that's a pattern we can work with."

"What about the dragons?" Cas asked. 

"Benny is working on all things Eve and dragon," Sam said. "But with this new hostage, there's gotta be a reason. Maybe Kelvin was on a case and he got too close."

"How would we even find out? Did he have a partner?"

"I know someone who knows pretty much everything," Sam replied as he pulled out his phone.

"Howdy, Sam!" Garth boomed. "I told ya, I'd call ya if I foun' anythin' and I haven't so – "

"Garth," Sam said on the other line. "I need you to tell me everything you know about Kelvin Colt."

 

Sam's voice made him wary, so Castiel sought out another possibility that intrigued him. All Sam had written was "Oliver, son of Prometheus (Titan) and Hayley (Human)." While the child was only nine, the angel had a strong feeling, or maybe an instinct, that the boy was worth a visit. 

While Sam was distracted taking notes from Garth, Cas teleported away. There were only a few Titans to begin with, and the pulsating energy from Prometheus's child was easy to hone in on. 

He appeared in a dining room with a table set for two. A young boy sat in his seat. He seemed unsurprised to see Castiel materialize in his home. 

"Are you Oliver, son of Prometheus?" Cas asked.

Oliver nodded.

"I am looking for Dean Winchester. He recently helped to lift a curse from you. Do you know where he is?"

"They took him for their version of Kronia. For them it happens every twenty years on the summer solstice. You should go."

"Who are – "

"Who the hell are you!" a woman screamed, brandishing a knife. Cas imagined that she was Hayley, Oliver's mother. "Get out of my house!" she yelled.

Castiel teleported back to Sam. If he had more tact, he would have explained himself to Hayley, but there just wasn't time for that.

"Cas, where the hell have you been?"

"Speaking with the child of a Titan," Cas said. "And it's good that I did."

"Kelvin Colt was working a case similar to one Dean and I caught about two years ago," Sam said, ignoring Castiel's response. "Men in their late twenties, early thirties. Good looking, successful. Very dead with this symbol carved into them."

"Amazons," Cas said. 

"Yes," Sam said. "And like Dean, one of the Amazons convinced Colt to sleep with her – "

Cas forced himself to ignore the jealousy bubbling up inside him. 

"And I'm guessing, when his kid came to kill him, he shot her in the heart, too," Sam continued.

"Dean had a child?"

"Not really."

"But, you just said – "

"Every two years the Amazons come out and target men for reproduction. Technically, yes, they're biologically fathers, but – "

"I thought they killed the fathers?"

"The daughters do, yes," Sam said. "When Emma tried to kill Dean, I shot her. What I don't get is, if she failed, and the child of Kelvin Colt failed – then – why kidnap them? And why now?"

"When is the summer solstice?" Castiel asked. 

"June 21," Sam said automatically. 

"That's in two days," the angel replied. 

"So what?"

"He said it was their version of the Kronia Festival."

"Who?"

"Oliver, the Titan."

"He's nine."

"He's a protogod," Cas replied, "regardless of his age. The Kronia happens annually, but this one only happens every twenty – "

"Wait, the Amazons? Every twenty years?" Sam repeated.   
"Holy crap, Cas – " The Winchester did not elaborate as he dug through the many piles of literature. "There was something in Bobby's notes..."

"It is highly annoying when you do this," Castiel said darkly. "Hurry up."

"The Festival of the Summer Solstice," Sam said, pulling a scrap of paper with English translation down the side. "Every two decades, the Amazons collect the surviving males for a harvest of the tribe."

"What?" Cas asked.

"Bad translation," Sam dismissed. "It's more like a culling of the weak. It's a sacrifice to appease the deities, to ensure the survival of the tribe."

"And we only have two days before the festival," Cas said. "Before both Dean and Kelvin are sacrificed."


	8. Show of Force

Sam fumbled through the pile of artifacts the Men of Letters kept in their archive. Cas watched curiously, unsure whether Sam had decided to no longer take his own advice of 'going in smart.'

"What are you doing?" Cas asked.

"Amazons made a deal with Harmonia," Sam said.

"Yes, but – "

"There's a thing in here that can kill her – "

"You want to kill Harmonia?" the angel asked. "Why?"

Sam stopped and turned to face Cas. "Because the Amazons get their power from a deal with her. We kill her, they become weak, we kill them and take Dean back."

"In the event that we do successfully dispatch Harmonia, it is much more likely that they kill Dean in retaliation before we get to him."

"So what then? We go up against dozens of super warriors and hope we win?" Sam asked. 

"First we need to figure out where the Kronia Festival is taking place."

"Okay, that's another thing, the Kronia festival was to celebrate Cronus, and we ganked him already – "

"The Amazons wouldn't honor a male deity," Cas cut him off. "This is there variation on it. Likely in Harmonia's name. If we can find out where, then we can rescue Dean and this Kelvin Colt person." 

"That's your plan?" Sam asked.

"After we rescue them, we can kill all the Amazons, if you'd like," Cas added. "But we would have more luck as four than as two."

Sam considered this and nodded. "Then, how do we find them?"

"We summon Harmonia and ask," Cas said. 

"I thought you said you didn't want to kill her."

"I said it would be foolish to kill her, yes."

"So, we summon her and ask, you think she'll spill?" Sam asked.

"We challenge her Amazons," Cas said. "Harmonia's bargain with the warriors make them like her – children. They kill in her name. They hunt for her. If we ask her where they plan to hold their festival, she'll tell us."

"Because?" Sam prompted.

"Because she will assume that we will fail," Cas said. "We have already done our due show of force, I feel strongly that we can summon her now and demand to know about the festival."

Sam's mind was swimming. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"The vampire nest? The immortal alchemist? The Leviathan? We've shown our prowess in terms of battle over the last few days, which would make us worthy opponents," Cas replied. "That is our show of force."

"What if you're wrong?" Sam asked. "What if she blows us off?"

Cas didn't even think about it. He replied, "Then we kill her, I suppose."

"Great, then I need that Greek-god-killing spear thing."

"Spear-thing?" Cas asked.

"Yeah, it's similar to what we used on Cronus," Sam said as he returned to his excavation of the artifacts.

Cas gathered materials for the spell, realizing – 

"I need Cyprus oil and rosemary."

"What?" Sam asked. 

But Cas had already disappeared.

 

Summoning a Greek deity wasn't as difficult as Sam thought it would be. He had his reservations from the time they dealt with Zeus, but Castiel wasn't backing down. 

Sam managed to find a stake made from an ancient olive tree, imbued with special properties by way of some random creature's blood. For good measure, he pocketed the Colt. 

"Damn it," Cas cursed. It sounded odd from his mouth, like he wanted to give the words venom but didn't know how.

"Cas?"

"This summoning spell only works at dawn!"

It was midnight.

"I've been wondering, Cas - can't you hone in on Kelvin Colt?" Sam asked.

"What?"

"Dean has tagging on his ribs, but Colt doesn't. They're in the same place, so if you can hone in on him – "

"No, it won't work," Cas interrupted. "I already tried."

"But – "

"Wherever they're holding them, it's protected from angels," Cas said. "Summoning Harmonia is the only way, and we can't even do that for another six hours."

"Then I guess we should look for other ways to find Amazons," Sam said, putting down his weapons and walking back over to his books.

"You should sleep."

Sam met Castiel's eyes. "If I sleep, will you continue looking for other ways to find the Amazons?"

"What else would I do?"

"Sit here and brood openly."

"Is that supposed to be funny? It's not funny."

Sam shook his head. "Since you got that spell together all you've done is sulk and complain about how long it took me to dig up this stuff. If I sleep, will you actually look for another way? Just in case?"

"Very well."

When Sam didn't seem convinced, Castiel rolled his eyes and said, "I give you my word." He even sounded sarcastic.

With that, the hunter walked up to his room. The angel was ready to ignore his promise, to simply stand and wait for the hours to trickle by.

But Dean's life was on the line, so maybe Sam wasn't wrong. Maybe they should have a contingency for their show of force on Harmonia. His affections for Sam became were becoming frayed by their extended time alone in the same foxhole. 

Just like Dean.

Dean had been – indeed, constantly was – a pain in the ass. It made Castiel feel annoyance and fondness at the same time. That particular confluence of emotions planted a nugget of love in his heart. From what he understood about humanity, conflicted emotions were the seat of wisdom. In a way, Dean's particular brand of jerk gave the angel his first glimmer of humanity. Cas hadn't recognized how much Sam presented those same features – thorny and kind, admirable and reckless, bold but bleak.

Cas opened the first book and began absorbing information. He had five hours and fifty-one minutes to go.

 

Sam had no plans to sleep, but forcing himself to stare at text over and over again would definitely put him to sleep. 

He pulled out his phone.

"'lo?" Benny said on the other end.

"It's Sam."

"Figured," Benny huffed. "I haven' foun' much abou' dragons kidnappin' anyone."

"It's not dragons," Sam said.

"You know who it is?"

"Yeah, the Amazons."

Benny laughed. "You're kiddin'." After a few seconds, he added, "You're not kiddin', are you?"

"No," Sam said. "How fast you think you can get to Lebanon, Kansas?"

"Uh, ten hours."

"Okay, please, just get here. We can really use your help."

"By help you mean wha' exac'ly?" Benny asked. "I've been keeping my nose clean, and I'm outta practice."

"Between Cas and me, we can hold'em off, but depending on how many there are..." Sam considered. "What we really need is someone to break Dean out."

"So you two are gonna fight, and I swoop in and grab the damsel in distress?" Benny asked.

"Yes, but only if you promise to say that to Dean," Sam said.

They laughed. 

"I'm gonna drive now. I'll call ya when I'm in Kansas."

 

Harmonia was a voluptuous woman with red-blond hair. Unlike Artemis, she wore a sundress and arrived to her summons without a single weapon.

"Hello," she said mildly as she appeared at dawn.

"Where is the Festival of Time being held this year?" Castiel asked. 

"Who wants to know?"

"The Winchesters," Sam replied.

Castiel made to add his name, but the hunter waved his hand. Cas was a Winchester, for better or worse. 

Harmonia considered them, her eye lingering on Sam for far too long. "The Winchesters want to die at the hands of my Amazons. Why?"

"Does it matter?" Cas asked. "We're worthy."

"Yes, you two have been quite busy bees in the last week. But vampires? They're not Amazons."

"What about Leviathan?" Sam asked. 

"You can't kill Leviathan."

"We can and we have," Cas replied dully. He was following Sam's lead, keeping his voice calm.

Harmonia seemed pleased with them. "My warriors could always use a few more bodies at the Festival. It's rare enough that there's even one man who escapes their killing."

"Tell us where it is," Cas said.

"Imperial, Nebraska," she said calmly. "I'll be seeing you boys there."

 

"We need to leave immediately," Cas repeated. 

"It's a three-hour drive, and we need reinforcements," Sam said. "Something they won't be expecting."

"Every second we wait, Dean and Kelvin are left there with these monsters – "

"I know!" Sam barked. "You agreed to go in smart or not at all. So I called Benny. And Dodge. She has training in long-distance shooting. She's not the best shot in the world, but she can cover us going in."

"And Benny?"

"He's gonna pull Dean and Kelvin out. He can hear their heartbeats from yards away. He's our best bet."

"How much longer do we have to wait?"

"Benny will be here in two hours, Dodge in one. In the meantime, we should be checking out weapons."

"I should be able to obliterate them," Cas objected. 

"And what if your angel death ray doesn't work on them? What if you have to smite them one by one?"

"Then I will!"

"Yeah, and I will have to shoot my way out with you. So we're gonna pack weapons to the nines. You understand?"

"If that's the case, then why are you only packing guns?" Cas asked. 

Sam hadn't expected that. "Huh."

 

"Nice tah meetcha," Benny said extending his hand to Dakota 'Dodge' Gage. "Name's Benny."

"Call me Dodge."

"Sam tell you I'ma vampire?" he asked.

"I've heard of you before," she said. "Dean mentioned you, I think."

"It's nice to be remember'd." 

"Great," Sam said, barely concealing his own tension at Dodge meeting Benny. "We're gonna travel separately. We've got a location, but it's not precise."

"Which is why I'm here," Dodge said. "I got this from satellite images."

She rolled out a large map of southwestern Nebraska. There were a number of oddities in the photo, including areas that looked like they had been razed to the ground.

"Are those forest fires?" Sam asked.

"Not so much," Dodge replied. "Someone burned these points to the ground. All eight of them are equidistant from this one spot."

Castiel nodded. "The Festival of Time would require an agricultural sacrifice in the days leading up to the blood sacrifice. It looks like they have burned plots of land."

"Give him a biscuit," Dodge said.

"I don't want a biscuit, " Cas said, but Dodge ignored him.

"Eight spots. Eight arson investigations. Although the cops have linked them because of the similarities: size, shape, accelerant. No leads."

"You sure they're keepin' their captives in the same general area?" Benny asked. 

"There are natural caves along the southeastern edge, but only a few that can safely house humans in the southwestern area near Imperial."

"So, we go in, I walk 'round takin' a list'n fer them in that general area," Benny said. "And hopefully find him."

"Cas and I are the decoys, drawing off guards," Sam added. "Dodge, you can provide cover fire, right?"

"Yeah, but I only have one shotgun – "

Sam laughed. "Dodge, I've got dozens of guns. You can have your pick."

Cas took out a pair of large, wire-rimmed glasses. "You will also need these," he said, holding them out to Dodge.

"These some kind of super binoculars?" she asked.

"Cas, those are mine!" Sam protested.

"Yes," Cas said to Sam. He turned to Dodge. "These have been scorched with Holy Fire. They reveal things invisible to the average human eye. You will need them to provide cover fire."

"Why? It's not like hellhounds will be there," Sam said. 

Dodge put the glasses on and stepped back quickly, nearly crashing into Benny.

"Dodge?" Sam said as he went to her.

"Sorry," she said to the vampire. She held out the glasses to Sam, who donned them immediately.

Through the lenses, the younger Winchester could see what threw Dodge back. Castiel's enormous black wings branched out in both directions. His body glowed yellow-white, and faint traces of red pulsated around him. Sam pulled them off and handed them back to Dodge.

"That smarts," Sam said simply. "You sure she should wear these, Cas?"

Castiel nodded. "She won't be so close when she uses them," he replied.

"Okay, great. An FBI agent riding with illegal weapons and equipped with angel-spotting glasses," Dodge said as she pocketed them.

"You won't be riding with us?" Cas asked, confused. 

"No," Sam and Dodge said at the same time.

"If I'm gonna provide cover fire, I might need to change vantage points, so Sam pulled me an old junker for the job."

"If you are pulled over, simply call out my name and I will teleport you away," Cas offered. "But take the guns."

Benny laughed.

"What?" Dodge asked.

"Strange comp'ny, that's all," he replied.


	9. Mirror Door

Dean strolled in from the kitchen, pie and burgers in hand. He put them on the table in the war room. Kevin, Sam, Cas, Dodge, and Charlie were all waiting for him to join them.

A second Castiel stepped into the room. 

"Hello, Dean," he said quietly. 

"Cas? There are two of you."

"This is a dream."

"Oh. It's nice."

"Listen carefully Dean."

"Okay."

"The Amazons have you. They plan to sacrifice you. We're coming to rescue both of you, but we need your help."

"I'm asleep, how can I help?"

"We've got Benny to track you. Amazons don't know about his special skills and talents, but there is much ground to cover, and – "

"You need me to help him out," Dean said sagely. "I can do that."

Cas took his hands and clasped them tightly. "We will bring you home soon. You understand?"

"I do. How's Sammy holding up?"

"He is highly annoying, but also right most of the time. It's aggravating."

"Sounds like him."

The room dimmed, and Dean couldn't feel Castiel's warmth anymore. "I think I'm waking up," he whispered to the angel. 

"Wake up, Dean. It's okay."

 

 **Outside Imperial, Nebraska**. Sam drove his Dodge Ram, with a tightlipped angel riding shotgun.

"Cas, I know this hasn't been easy for you," Sam started in. "But it hasn't been a cakewalk for me, either."

Cas remained silent. 

"We both miss him, and it's important we stick it out together. No matter how annoying you find my presence," Sam continued. 

"Your presence is not annoying," Cas said quietly. "It is comforting."

"Yeah? Because you've been acting otherwise."

"If something happened to Dean, I - you would be my only family," Cas said. "And it has occurred to me that, it could be worse. I mean... I could have a far worse brother than you."

"Thanks, I think."

"You can be frustrating, maddening even," Cas added. "Just like Dean."

Sam laughed.

 

 **Imperial, Nebraska**. Benny called Sam as soon as he smelled it: blood and ash. 

"I've found somethin'," he said. 

"What?" Sam asked as casually as he could manage.

"Bodies," Benny said.

"Bodies? But the festival doesn't start till tomorrow!" Sam fumbled. 

Benny could hear Castiel speaking, but the words weren't clear enough to make out. "What's yer angel friend goin' on 'bout Sam?" the vampire finally asked.

"Benny, can you see what... state the bodies are in?"

"No, not close enough yet. Why?"

"Apparently, on the eve of the festival, Amazons sacrifice in a kind of gladiatorial combat with mortal soldiers."

"Sounds unpleasan'," the vampire remarked. "What kind of state would the bodies be left in for these, uh, whatchu call it?"

"Gladiatorial sacrifices," Sam said. "They'd be mangled as hell, and then burned, according to Cas."

"But they haven't done it in centuries!" the angel said loudly enough for Benny to hear. "Why now?"

"Dunno, but these are definitely extra crispy bodies, I can smell it."

"Keep going, Benny. Find a place to stash your car and start on foot."

"Wha' abou' you three?" Benny asked. 

"Dodge is looking for higher ground. Cas and I will split off and cause a diversion. Use the weird phone thing I gave you, a friend souped them up so you can contact everyone."

"Righ'," Benny said before he hung up. How did he know that none of the burned bodies here were Dean Winchester?

As he parked his car, he made up his mind to inspect all of them, just to be sure. Hell, maybe one of the bodies will give him a hint where they were holding their captives.

 

Madeline paced the length of the temporary living space she and her warriors acquired for their festivities. Harmonia had brought them word of a challenge, and they made the appropriate preparations and sacrifices. Two of the younger Amazons became injured in the Combat Games, but otherwise their ranks remained strong.

The goddess did not describe the challengers or provide their names, which made the elder Amazon nervous. Certainly one of their captives drew in these two individuals. All of them survived the Amazon initiation, and from her research, all of them were skilled warriors and likely surrounded themselves with the same. 

Unfortunately, for the first time in all her life, not one but two of their captors were hunters, which meant that the people seeking to challenge her tribe knew who the Amazons really were. That's why they had taken precautions in their holding cells for everything from witches to angels to fairies, of all things.

"Ma'am," Laurel said as she entered. 

"You have news?"

"The last of the dead have been burned, and we have visitors."

"Then let's not keep them waiting."

 

Benny had ditched plenty of tails in his life, but these two were like nothing else. They kept on him like jackrabbits fleeing from hawks, and he was ready to vamp-up to boost his speed. But he kept his cool and walked, ducking into shadows, because the only reason they were still following him was that they didn't know if he was a threat. 

At least, that was the only reason he could figure.

 

Dodge didn't like the idea of establishing a vantage point in an old junker, but according to Sam, it was her best bet. She wished that this was a crazy serial killer cult; in that case, she could radio for local backup. 

Unfortunately, an onslaught of dozens of Wonder Woman wannabes with superhuman speed, power, and swords wasn't something she could explain. Even if they were, she couldn't risk the lives of agents by sending them into a battle without all the information they needed to survive.

So here she was, watching her friends march off into a firestorm with nothing more than a jacked up cell phone for communication.

Dodge put on the scorched glasses, which felt odd on her face. Through their lenses, it was as if Castiel light up his general vicinity; she could spot him and Sam without even trying. 

Something moved.

"You've got company," she said. "Your six and seven and your nine," she said into her phone. 

She pulled up her binoculars. All three looked human enough. She couldn't just snipe them for being suspiciously beautiful, strong, and in the vicinity. So she waited.

 

Sam managed to teach Castiel the nature of direction by clock; otherwise, Dodge's calls would have meant nothing to the angel.

"I'll be the chum," Sam said.

"The what?"

"The chum. You know, the bait."

Castiel disappeared. 

"Dodge, they're getting close," Sam warned through his phone. "What's up?"

"I can't tell if they're people or not," she said.

"Right, well, the skin around their eyes changes when they attack. And they have that symbol I showed you burned into their wrists."

He waited, and the woman on his six approached first, flanked by another. He guessed the woman at nine was supposed to surprise him while the first two kept him busy. 

Sam had a gun and sword, just in case, but Dodge's point gave him pause. He couldn't see their wrists, and for all he knew, they were just women –

Then he saw their swords. 

Bang! Bang! He hit the first one in the shoulder and neck, and the one flanking her suddenly became decapitated. 

Cas didn't teleport. He went invisible. Just as the though occurred to Sam that Dodge could hit Castiel with friendly fire, he remembered the scorched glasses. That's why Cas gave them to her, so she could see him when he was invisible. His next thought was that the angel could've given him a heads up; he could've brought Dean's pair. 

BANG! The shot rang out hugely, like a cannon. The third Amazon went down with a shot to the torso, and before Sam could reach her, a sickening thwack informed him that invisi-Cas had cut her head off for good measure.

"You got company," Dodge said. 

"Where?"

"Everywhere, Sam. How long you planning on holding this up?"

"As long as it takes."

 

The two tailing the drifter vanished suddenly when he ducked into a restroom. Benny made a few more rounds in case they were just getting stealthier, but there wasn't any sign of them. 

He had to find Dean. He'd already smelled his blood out in that field, but Cas mentioned Dean knew Benny was coming. That hunter would bleed himself, certainly, if it meant saving his life. 

Had it not been for the Wonder Twins tailing him, he might've found him already. So Benny doubled back, almost at a run this time because from the sounds coming through his phone, the others were in a maelstrom of Amazonian warfare.

Dean would be pissed if they were all ripped to shreds. His "friend thing" would kick in.

 

Dodge discarded her concern over human attackers after she ran out of rounds for her first two guns. What worried her more was that the body count was getting high, over a dozen, and it would only be a matter of time before someone made her position and tried to stop the cover fire.

"Please tell me we're getting ready to leave," she said as she landed another hit to an Amazon's shoulder. Five shots in every eight managed to hit a target. That was something.

"Nada," came a reply. It sounded like Benny.

 

The vampire followed the smell of blood, and he found himself back near the burned bodies. He moved passed them, taking in the brutality of their deaths. Vampires might be monsters, but he'd never seen such violently abused bodies. 

For Benny, that was saying something.

Ten men, all solidly built. They were tough sons of bitches when they were alive, no doubt about it. Benny pushed passed them, following the scent of fresh blood. 

Was he moving in circles? It sure felt like it.

Damn it, he was. Benny took stock for a moment, breathing deeply. The pyres of bodies muddied the trail. He needed to focus on something other than smell.

So he closed his eyes and listened for something the burned stiffs wouldn't have – a heartbeat. There was more than one, but that's all he could figure, and it was – 

Damn, of course. They were underground, beneath him. There must be a way down from here.

 

Pop! Slash! Scream – 

The last two were closer than Sam would like. Even with invisi-Cas and sniper-Dodge, there seemed to be an endless supply of Amazons to push closer. How many were dead now? Twenty? Thirty? Sam couldn't keep up.

And he only had so many bullets. Sooner or later, he'd only have a machete and knife. 

Crack! He heard it before he felt it; one of the Amazons snuck up behind him and landed a blow to one of his ribs with her elbow, and a blinding pain blossomed in his chest and stomach – 

Bang! His assailant took a shot straight to the head. 

Sam owed Dodge a lifetime supply of Twizzlers when this was over.

 

Benny drew his machete. He didn't believe in luck, but even if he had, he didn't expect to find anyone unguarded. No diversion would be _that_ big.

It took him a moment to recognize what he was hearing. Back in Purgatory, before they found Castiel, Dean and Benny took shifts sleeping. The vampire made it a point to whistle quietly so his companion knew he was awake; it was the only way Dean could fall asleep. He used the same tune each night. He wasn't sure of its name; it was just something he picked up at some vaudeville scene a long time ago. He whistled it because it sounded like galloping horses and bubbles rising to the surface.

That's what he was hearing. Someone down here was whistling that tune. 

But Dean didn't sing or whistle. When he tried, it came out all jarred and jagged. So who the hell was whistling now?

Suddenly, his body was thrown into a nearby wall and pinned. He hated when he was right. One of the guards must've spotted him. Her eyes were laced-red and oddly attractive.

"Who are you?" the guard asked.

"Jus' visitin'," Benny commented mildly as he lashed out with his machete. 

Her arm fell away. At least they dismembered like people. That's all Benny had time to consider before she threw a wicked left jab. Apparently loss of limb did not constitute backing down for these women. 

Benny staggered to his knees and thrust his machete up into her chest. That stopped her cold. 

Once her body dropped the vampire pounded the ground, headed toward the whistling.

 

Her luck ran out when she shifted to her sixth weapon. One really tall bitch slammed into her junker full throttle, actually jolting both her and the car.

Hands found her neck and started to pull her out through the window, but her little pea-shooter was still in hand. Pop! Pop! Pop! Three shots to the assailant's chest, and the Amazon went down.

"My position's been compromised," Dodge said over her phone. "I've gotta move."

She drove off in the busted car but didn't get far before two more Amazons followed suit.

"Shit, shit! Guys!"

 

Broken ribs and now a broken arm. Sam was on the ground, hearing nothing more but the sounds of Dodge's calls for help. His heart raced – 

Heat and comfort surged through his body. That must be Cas healing him. A strong force lifted Sam back to his feet while simultaneously cutting another Amazon in half at the waist. 

Invisi-Cas was unnerving on so many levels. 

Forty Amazon down. Only hundreds more to go.

 

"You poor bastard," Benny said as he approached Dean.

"Benny?" Dean said weakly.

"Knew you couldn't whistle for shit," Benny replied fondly, indicating the other man with him.

"Dean described it to me," Kelvin added. "You here to help or hurt?"

"Rescuing damsels in distress is jus' what I do," Benny said as he smashed open the lock. "Come on out."

"Where?" Dean asked.

"Follow the sound of my voice."

"I can't see. You should come in and get us," Kelvin said.

"Righ', 'cept I'll be trapped there myself," Benny replied. "You both are sittin' quietly in a brightly lit cave? Not clawing at the walls or lock? On'y reason Dean Winchester does that is if he's doped to high heaven."

"What?" Dean asked dumbly. 

"It's a spell, genius. Keepin' you in place. Now git your ass up and follow my voice."

The two hunters tumbled out of their enclosure and fell flat on their faces.

"Benny, I hate you," Dean huffed. 

"Mmm, Kelvin by the way," the other hunter said. "Take it you're Benny?"

"That's right, now let's haul ass before anymore guards show up," Benny said, pulling them both to their feet. "I brought these for you, but since there are two damsels, you gotta share."

Benny proffered three knifes and two machetes. 

"Thanks, Benny. I feel like I've been drunk for days," Dean said. "You look good."

"Holy hell, you must be screwed up. Follow me," the vampire said. "There're a few other people locked up in other cells, I'm guessin' you wanna git to them, huh?"

 

There was no way out. Too many Amazons now dotted the horizon. They staggered the first fifty warriors as some kind of softening process, breaking the fight out of them. There must be a hundred Amazons battle ready in formation, and Dodge – 

Sam hadn't heard a thing from Dodge in two whole minutes, not even a gunshot. She was probably dead, and he had to assume that Benny wasn't coming back. It was over – 

He took a knee to fire off his last rounds, landing clean shots to the hearts on one, two, three Amazons –

 

Oddly enough, they made it out of the den to the stacked bodies without incident. The dozen or so other captives scattered as soon as they caught wind of scorched flesh, and Dean was just too tired to stop them.

"Uh, poor bastards," Kelvin said as he blubbered out into the open. "This must've been the screaming we heard."

"Awesome."

"Com'on, we don't have time to chit-chat – "

Thwack! A mallet met with Benny's chest, throwing him back into the rocky part of the wall. But this wasn't a woman; no, this was a man. He was burly and stacked, maybe a soldier.

"Curious," the man said happily. "You're not what I was expecting, but it'll do."

"Who are you?" Kelvin asked.

"Just a guy," he replied before he went for Kelvin.

Dean stepped in with his machete, but his balance was way off and he missed. The guy brought the mallet down hard on Dean's knee, breaking it and throwing him to the ground.

Kelvin tried his hand by throwing a knife. He hit the guy in the arm but that didn't do much, and the other hunter took the mallet in the face, knocking him clean out. 

Benny grappled with him, since Dean was down and Kelvin was out. It was all he could do to fend off the man's attack. Soon his machete and knives were strewn on the ground, his only weapon remaining was, well, himself.

This might not be a woman, but he fought like the Amazon. That was all Benny could figure with Dean howling at him.

It was his only recourse now; Benny zipped around the mallet and bit down into his neck, hard. Blood touched his lips, and he spat it out. Most of it anyway. The guy went down, so Benny let him go, unconscious but alive.

Then the vampire grabbed his phone, which finally had service again. "We need help!"

 

Sam stood his ground with invisi-Castiel somewhere in the vicinity. He guessed. Obviously, he couldn't be sure – 

As if to answer the question he didn't ask, he felt pressure, like he was standing back-to-back with someone. 

"Cas?"

"Dodge is safe for now, but we need to get out of here – "

Hacking and slashing oddly punctuated their conversation, as pairs of Amazons slammed into their space, forcing them to react. 

"Can't you wing us – "

"I am a bit distracted," Cas said as he impaled two Amazons at once. 

Walls upon walls of warriors were upon them. The formation Sam saw before him was clever and terrifying. If Dean were here, he'd say it was like watching 300 in 3D and bloody.

Something odd happened. Odder than invisible angels having his back – their formation faltered, as if their focus became re-engaged elsewhere. It took Sam a few seconds to piece together what was happening. 

It was a freaking air strike. 

A small formation of planes swooped down and blazed continuous fire, scattering and injuring the warriors. 

"Need a hand, bitches?" came a familiar voice over the phone. 

"Charlie?" Sam asked before the world around him suddenly changed. 

The now-visible Castiel had teleported him to Dodge and the junker, which was barely functional after sustaining several Amazonian blows. 

The majority of the warriors were thoroughly confused by Charlie's fighter pilots, and Sam made a mental note not to piss her off in the future. 

Something pierced Sam's side and cracked more of his ribs, throwing him hard into the car. 

"Sam!" Dodge yelled. 

Bang! Pop! Her handgun shot one attacker, and Cas took down another. 

Cas healed Sam for what felt like the twentieth time today and hauled his ass up. 

"We gotta go!" Sam said. "I heard Benny a minute ago – "

"I'll distract them," Dodge said. 

"With what?"

"Hope you weren't attached to this car or those guns, Sam," Dodge replied. "Cas, get us outta here on my mark."

Cas nodded, and Dodge took what looked like an improvisational hand grenade out of her survival bag and tossed it into the car - 

"MARK!"

The angel took his human passengers away before the bomb exploded. The gas from the car added to the fireball.

 

"Holy crap!" Charlie's voice came through the phone. "Please tell me you guys did that on purpose."

"We did, mostly," Sam replied. 

"Dean!" Cas choked out, seeing his hunter on the ground and writhing with pain. 

Cas tapped on Kelvin's shoulder, healing him and restoring him to consciousness at the same time. He then moved immediately to Dean and knelt over him. He took a moment, taking Dean in, and Castiel's body lit up, his eyes glowed. For a moment, Sam could see his wings cast a shadow.

"Wow," Dodge mouthed taking Sam's hand.

"Cas," Dean said. "You're – uh – "

"I missed you," Cas said. 

"Me too."

The angel took Dean's head in his hands and pressed their foreheads together, healing him completely.

"Ain't that sweet," Benny said. "Can we git the hell outta here now?"

"Benny, who's this?" Sam asked, indicating the vamp-bitten man.

"He beat the crap out of us," Dean said. "Benny was just defending himself, oh, and us too."

"He's not an Amazon," Cas said. 

Before they could get much further in the conversation, a dark haired woman appeared, flanked by two Amazon soldiers.

"You will regret having crossed us," Madeline said to them.

Before anything else could happen, Castiel teleported them back to Sam's truck.

"Really?" Benny said. "You coulda dropped us in China."

"And leave substantial trail markers in so doing," the angel replied. "You remember where your truck is?"

"I parked it outside the Bowling Bar and Roller on First and Terrace – " Benny replied. 

Cas touched his forehead and sent him back to his car before he could finish his sentence. 

"Thanks, I guess," Benny said through his phone. "Signing off. Check in about an hour."

"I'll catch up with you," Cas said, taking the injured man. "Go."

 

Dodge took shotgun, and Sam took the wheel, leaving Dean and Kelvin under the cap of the truck.

"Hey, bitches?" Charlie's voice came through the phone. It made Sam jump; he had forgotten it was still connected.

"Charlie, we owe you," Sam said.

"Nah," Charlie replied. "Gave me an excuse to finally hack into some droids."

"I'm not hearing this conversation," Dodge said. "Understand?"

"Droids?" Sam asked. "You mean, un-manned planes?"

"Yeah, I can't fly a real fighter plane. Obviously," Charlie replied. 

"Do I want to know how you hacked into some droids? Please tell me it was at least hard to do," Dodge said. "Even if it is a lie."

"Charlie's the best," Sam explained.

"Actually, uh, those Amazon bitches went after soldiers stationed nearby. One of the survivors wanted a little payback. So he might've helped me," Charlie said mildly. 

"Again, totally didn't hear this conversation," Dodge said.

"You guys okay?" Charlie asked. "I mean, really okay?"

"Yeah, we are. We should've let you know once we cleared the state – " Sam said.

"Dude, bigger fish, right? Just fill me in when you get back. I gotta return the droids and ditch the hacking equipment, so give me like an hour."

"Thanks, Charlie."

 

Castiel appeared at a truck stop a few hours later, joining Kelvin and Dean in the truck bed under the cap.

"Can you zap me home?" Kelvin asked.

"I just need an address," Cas said. 

"I wish I had an angel on my shoulder," Kelvin said quietly after giving them his address.

"I'm not on his shoulder," Cas pointed out before he touched his forehead and sent him back to Chicago.

"I missed you," Cas said to Dean. "I thought I lost you."

"You never did," Dean said sleepily. "Do I want to know what you did to that guy Benny bit?"

"I healed him, partially," the angel replied. "And dropped him at a hospital."

"What? Cas, that dude tried to kill us – "

"He mistook you for his enemy," Cas said. "His name was Sergeant Stewart Gregory. The other men the Amazons killed were stationed with him."

"How – what did you do?"

"I read his mind," Cas replied. "I needed to know."

"Thanks, Cas, for holding Sammy together for me," Dean said. "Looks like he and Dodge figured things out."

"Actually," the angel replied, "I believe you should thank Sam. He ensured my survival. I did not deal with your absence very well."

"Awww," Dean said, "You're just a big old softie, aren't ya?"

"Shut up."


	10. Lions in the Street

**Outside Minot, North Dakota**. Benny Lafitte knew something was wrong. He could feel it inside of himself; there was a heaviness there that he hadn't had for months.

That man that attacked them was something fierce, but he wasn't an Amazon. Benny assumed he'd been a monster of some kind, maybe even a deity. He never considered the possibility that the man was human. 

Human. Benny drank human blood.

 

 **Lebanon, Kansas**. They doubled back to the bunker after a few days on the road, arriving well after midnight. 

"Is it okay if I crash here for the night?" Dodge asked. 

"Yeah, of course," Sam said. "Rule is that if you save our asses, you can crash with us."

"Unless you're a demon," Dean added as he passed them on his way to the door.

"I'm not," Dodge said after him. 

They gathered in the war room, winding down with their last check-ins. 

"Garth didn't call back yet; I'll follow up tomorrow," Sam said. "Charlie cleaned up her mess and is off in Never-Never Land by now." 

"You mean like drugs?" Dodge asked concerned.

"Worse: LARPing," Dean said. 

"Right, worse," Sam said under his breath as a jab at his brother.

She laughed before heading up to the bedrooms for the night. "Night," she called over her shoulder.

"Benny's out in Idaho for a few nights, says he's okay," Dean said. 

"Guess he still doesn't like me," Sam said.

"Shut up," Dean dismissed. "I'm tapped out for the night. Cas?"

 

Less than an hour later, Sam strolled into his bedroom and flipped on the lights.

"Who there sparky," Dodge said, rolling her face into the pillow.

His eyes moved from the woman in his bed to her bag on his chair in the corner. She went back to work for three weeks, and they never got around to discussing anything in between. 

Dodge excelled at confusing the crap out of Sam. First they connected. Then she pulled away and told him not to expect much, and now – now she wore one of his old t-shirts and was curled up on his bed.

"Dodge?" he whispered. 

"You said I could crash here," she replied. 

"I guess I just assumed you'd be taking your old room," he admitted quietly.

She sat up, the movement pushing away the blankets and revealing the length of her leg to her thigh. "I haven't had a vision in almost four weeks," she said. "No visions means no sleep-tantrums or fits."

Sam squinted his eyes and opened his mouth. He felt like an idiot. She stopped sleeping in his bed before because she didn't want to injure him. He hadn't realized that at the time, but he should've known.

"Sam, I know we went through a rough patch – and I know, I said you didn't know me, because my job is my life and – if you don't want me around – "

"No, that's – no."

"Then what's with the face?"

"You didn't, uh, say anything before," he said. "About sleeping in separate beds. I mean, you told me that I didn't really know you – "

"I meant because I was sick – " Dodge interrupted.

Sam continued, "I know, but then you started sleeping in your own room and I thought – I thought that was you breaking off anything serious."

"What? No, no! That was me not wanting to pistol-whip you in my sleep," she said. "I mean, I told you about it – you saw me having a fit one night – "

"I know, I – I didn't connect the dots – " Sam fumbled. 

Then he laughed. 

"Sorry," he said. "Apparently I'm not very good with talking and listening, which is weird because it's usually Dean who has those problems. Maybe they rubbed off."

"Or maybe it's me," she said. "I should apologize, but – "

"You don't do that," Sam interrupted. 

"So, the real question is, do you mind? Me sleeping here for the night?" she asked.

Sam didn't think; the words came out of his mouth as if someone compelled him to speak. "Not at all."

"Then, are you going to join me? Or just stare at me all night?" she asked.

Sam forgot to remove his jeans and shoes. He sat on the bed across from Dodge and pulled her into a long kiss.

 

Sam saw Dodge off the next morning after breakfast.

"I've got work on Monday, so I need to get back to D.C.," she said. "Call you when I get there, okay?"

"Yeah," Sam said. "And if you need anything – "

She kissed him before he could finish and walked to her car. Sam forced himself to turn around to return to the bunker after she drove off. 

He should be happy. Dean was back, and he and Dodge finally had time to work things out. A little anyway. But as he closed the door behind him, the weight of the last week crashed over him.

The Amazons would be out for their blood. Charlie did some especially dangerous hacking, and Sam and Cas had churned the supernatural world in their search to find Dean. None of that boded well for the future.

Cas and Dean were awake and in the war room, so Sam joined them.

"How's Dodge?" Dean asked with as much innuendo as possible.

"She's headed back to work," Sam said. "And she's fine."

"Right," Dean said, flashing his brother a cocky and knowing smile.

A phone rang, and Dean got to it first.

"Hello?" he said into his phone.

"Hey-o!" Garth said. "Good tah hear ya, Dean!"

"Garth," Dean said, "great."

"Just callin' to fill ya in on my contacts," Garth said. 

"Let me put you on speaker."

Dean put the phone down on the table, so they could all hear it.

"Okay, so, as far as I can tell, you guys raised a lotta hell with that vampire nest you cleared out," Garth said. "The cops think it's a weird cult killing spree."

Dean's eyes flashed up to his brother's. 

"We were looking for you," Sam said quietly. 

"Nice," Dean responded quietly.

"Any-who, well done. I hear you also pissed off a few witches, which ain't a smart thing to do when you leave them alive, but I guess you couldn't terminate all of 'em, righ'?" Garth said.

"Sam insisted on it at the time," Castiel replied.

"No activity on Amazons, but I got people lookin' jus' in case," Garth continued. "I thin' you better be more worried about the Leviathan."

"Leviathan?" Dean said, over-extenuating the word.

"Yeah, your brother and Cas took out a trio of Levis that infiltrated some church group. Apparently there were a few other Levis on staff there that're lookin' to get even."

"Any more info?" Dean asked.

"They're in Tennessee, when last I checked," Garth said. "And they're out fer blood."

"How many?" Sam asked.

"So far, reports say three," Garth replied. "Otherwise, the body count in Nebraska turned out to be ten soldiers and seventy-three unidentified women. I'm guessin' they're all Amazons, huh?"

Dean whistled. "Seventy-three?"

"Anyway, I'll keep ya'll in the loop, got another call! Garth-out!"

Dean paced around his younger brother and his angel, sizing them up dramatically.

"So, while I was drugged and kept in a dungeon, you two went after a super-nest of vampires, witches, and a bunch of Levis?"

"That is an accurate summary," Cas said, "except we also looked into possible human grudges and others who might – "

"Really? You did more?" Dean asked.

"We were trying to find you!" Sam said loudly.

"Right. And to do that you just wrung out all of the supernatural world?" Dean asked. "You have any idea how stupid that was?"

Cas and Sam didn't respond. They were both thoroughly cowed.

Dean pulled a complete one-eighty and clapped them both hard on their backs. "I'm so proud of both of you!" he said, pulling them into an awkward three-person hug, cracking their heads together by accident.

"Ow," Sam said. 

"I concur," Cas said.

Dean brandished his keys and said, "Now, because Sammy here eats, well, crap, I need to go on a grocery run. I'll be back in twenty minutes. Try not to piss off or massacre anyone else while I'm gone, huh?"

Dean left the bunker in an incredibly cheerful mood.

"Usually he's only that happy after we've killed something," Sam remarked.

"Sam," Cas said quietly. "If it hadn't been for you, I would likely be dead. And Dean, too."

"Likewise," Sam said.

"No, not likewise," Cas replied. "You wanted to find Dean just as badly, but it didn't blind you the way it blinded me. I – crossed the line, as you said. Many times. And had it not been for you, one of those times would have resulted in my death."

"Without you, I never would have found Dean. I would have summoned Harmonia and killed her, and Dean would be dead. I'm my own kind of blind, I guess."

"I guess, that's what family's for. To fill in each other's blind spots."

"Couldn't put it better myself."


End file.
